Strange Encounter
by cjh4ever
Summary: This story begins with the events in Fragments, pre-season one. Told from Jack's point of view, this is how he met Ianto but with a twist: Jack finds and kills Lisa. All characters will appear but focussing on Jack and Ianto.
1. Chapter 1

_Taken from Fragments, this is Jack's view of meeting Ianto. But be warned, it does not turn out quite as it does in the series …_

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**Strange Encounter**

The report came in when I was about to turn in for the night. In some of my more bizarre flights of fancy I was convinced the Weevils had a link to the Hub's internal CCTV cameras and waited until I was asleep or in the shower before leaving the sewers to wreak mayhem on the city. I can see it now, a little group of them sitting round with beer and popcorn waiting for me to strip my clothes off. Great taste, guys! I wonder what they would make of Owen's antics when he tried to get out of work or came in with a hangover looking like death warmed up; he was at his most Weevilish then. I bet he'd be a star in their little world - though not as big as me.

With a sigh and a little smile, I rather like my idea of Weevil TV, I checked the screen hoping for a simple one. The rest of the team had been working hard and I didn't want to cut into their downtime if I could help it. Especially as it was Tuesday. Suzie goes somewhere every Tuesday, unusual for her, and I wouldn't want to spoil whatever private life she'd managed to retain. Luck was with me, it was a lone Weevil in Cathays Park. I could handle that on my own, no sweat. A quick entry into the log to show I'd responded and then a circuit to collect the Weevil kit, Webley, mobile and don my greatcoat, couldn't leave without that.

Walking to the SUV, I remembered Charlie, way back, talking about my greatcoat. He had this elaborate theory, he was full of them, that the coat was my security blanket. That I was like some little kid that wouldn't let go of a scruffy piece of blanket or toy, that I needed it to feel safe. Codswallop! I wore it for four reasons. First I looked good in it. I knew this for a fact as I'd seen it flow out and around me as I walked or ran past shop windows, iconic I reckoned. Second, it had lots of pockets which came in really useful. Third, it kept me warm. Cardiff was a damn cold city and the Bay's even worse with the wind whipping in across the water. A skimpy jacket that didn't cover my butt is not for me, however much other people would like a better view of my rear end! And the fourth reason - did I mention I looked good in it? There was a downside to the coat as I remembered now as I got into the SUV. Wearing it when driving was uncomfortable unless I took a minute or two – as I did now - to rearrange it under me; sitting on a fold can be a pain in the butt as well as creating creases. In the coat not my butt.

Putting my foot down, I drove to the Park. It was not far and the roads were pretty clear for the time of night. The clubs didn't empty for an hour or so when the crowds of drunks appeared on the streets, not that Tuesday was generally too bad for that sort of thing. Only a few people were walking around and the vehicles I saw were headed in the opposite direction to me. At least there were fewer buses, damned things! They blocked the streets and were forever stopping and starting, making driving absolute hell. Ought to be banned. 'Cos they will be soon. Private transport for all was on its way and it can't come a moment too soon in my opinion though I shall miss this SUV, best vehicle Torchwood has ever had even it I do say so myself. Had to fight to get decent vehicles in the past, being the boss has some compensations. Still, flying above Cardiff's streets was something to look forward to.

I swung into the car park and stopped, checking the location of the Weevil. It had not moved far, just to the small clump of trees on the right. With the spray, hood and restraints in my pockets – the coat coming into its own again – I headed in that direction leaving the SUV where it was, walking fast. I only slowed when I heard movement ahead and spotted a dark shape bending over. For a moment I thought it might be feeding. Weevils got mad when you disturbed them eating. Plus, if they were feeding it usually meant some unsuspecting passer-by had become a late night snack and that meant a cover up which in turn meant paperwork. Not my favourite task. Standing and watching, I saw my Weevil buddy was not feeding. I wasn't sure what he was doing snuffling around in the dirt. Time I made my big entrance. Moving forward, I got close before he sensed me and then it was fun time.

With lightening speed he slammed me up against a tree; that hurt! Not giving him the upper hand, I was on him, pulling him round to face me and throwing a right that connected but though he went down he didn't stay there. He was up and in my face, whacking me again and I danced around with him, both of us connecting some punches but nothing stopped him. Then I found myself on my back with him on top: not good. Looked like this one would get away from me, embarrassing but not unheard of, when he went for the jugular. Got close too and I felt a chunk of flesh being torn away. Then the Weevil stopped, loosened his grip and got off me. Looking up I saw someone else above us, bashing the Weevil with a tree branch. Good for him! As I scrambled to my feet I saw my rescuer was loosing the fight and the Weevil was on him. I jumped on the Weevil's back and wrestled him down, straddling him and using the spray. With the hood over his head he quietened enough for me to administer the sedative. And the Weevil was out for the count, thank God.

As I stood I got my first good look at my rescuer - and liked what I saw. Tall, dark and handsome just didn't do him justice. I gave him a quick once over, checking for wounds. Yeah, right! He was hot! Short jacket and tight jeans showed him off to advantage. I wanted him to turn round so I could get a look at his butt but he didn't. Oh well, can't have everything.

"Thanks," he said. Deep, rich voice and Welsh. Sexy.

"No, thank you," I replied, in my most confident manner. "And you are?" Had to ask for a name first, I've scared off too many people asking for a phone number straight away. Save me from twenty first century hang ups!

"Jones, Ianto Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Jones, Ianto Jones. Captain Jack Harkness." I stuck my hand out and he took it, good strong grip and warm dry skin. Can't stand limp, sweaty handshakes; this one was fine.

"Lucky escape," he said. Cheeky bugger, who did he think he was?

"I had it under control." And don't you think otherwise, pretty boy, I wanted to add but didn't.

"Think so? Looked pretty vicious. You're um …" I swayed backwards when he reached out. If he saw the Weevil bite me I may have to Retcon him. "You WERE bleeding." He saw.

"Had worse from shaving." The cocky joke works sometimes and I really didn't want to Retcon this one. He was cute. Great nose, little turned up at the end. I'd like to get to know this one better.

"Looked like a Weevil to me." Damn, damn and triple damn! Why did this always happen to me!? Why was it the sexy ones I'd like to get to know who saw too much? And he'd turned round, the butt was … wonderful. Not important, I told myself, forcing my brain to concentrate on what he had said: how did he know about Weevils?

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Like that was going to work, I thought. He looked at me with a speculative air. It was clear he didn't believe me so he does know what a Weevil looks like, what they are – damn! "I'll take it from here." With a quick movement, I got the Weevil over my shoulder ready to go. I'd check the guy out soon as I got back to the Hub. He knew way too much. "Thanks for the assistance."

He called after me as I walked away, "Any time. By the way, love the coat."

It took all my self possession to start walking again. He was coming onto me, I was certain. The hottest guy I'd seen for a while was making moves on me. Which, of course, was just as it should be. It was such a pity he knew about Weevils. If he was one of the _Dark Talk_ nutters I'd have to Retcon him. With the Weevil in the back of the SUV I drove back to the Hub, playing over all that had happened in the park. The guy knew too much to be there by chance. Had he set it up, got the Weevil there and then called in the alert? Unlikely, no one tells a Weevil what to do. More likely he heard the alert and followed me. Jeez, I may have a stalker, always wanted one of them.

Back at the Hub, I slung the Weevil over my shoulder again and took him direct to the cells. The sedative was starting to wear off as I dumped it in the first empty cell I found, stepping back to lock the door securely. I waited to make sure he came round all right. Weevils may be annoying, vicious creatures but I don't like hurting them unnecessarily. This one recovered fine, launched himself at me and snarled to show how much he cared. Now, time to check up on my handsome stranger. I recalled his features and a familiar feeling stole over me: I so wanted a shag and that guy would do just fine. With a laugh, I flung the greatcoat over a chair and climbed down to my quarters. No shag for me, not tonight. Great pity - for him and for me. Taking off the shirt, I saw it was ruined and put it in the bin, the third this week. Perhaps it would be better to go on these jaunts naked, at least that way I wouldn't keep ruining my clothes.

Back in the office I snagged a bottle of water from the side and took a drink. Swinging the chair round to face the PC, I got into the database and ran the name; Jones, Ianto Jones. Plenty of Joneses but only one Ianto of the right age and there was his pretty face. Well, not so pretty actually, even HIS passport photo was appalling. I read his entry. He had a standard childhood, education and … oh, I hadn't expected a conviction. I was liking this guy more and more. Then I hit paydirt. It was no wonder he knew about Weevils. Ianto Jones joined Torchwood One in 2005 and was one the few who got out alive after Canary Wharf. Unlike Rose. I sat back and shut my eyes; I had thought I was over her by now. Why had she died? She had been so brave, so resourceful, so beautiful, so wonderful. What the hell had The Doctor done to let her die in that bloodbath!? He had been supposed to look after her! He had been supposed to look after me!

Calm down, I tell myself, calm down. There was nothing I could do about it now. Any day now, any day and he'd be here. I wouldn't get him to fix me if I throttled him first. With a deep breath I went back to my stalker. He had a girlfriend – Lisa Hallett – who was missing, presumed dead. Dead like Rose. There was no record of what became of Ianto Jones after the Battle, he must have upped sticks and headed back home to Mum. But I realised he didn't, he was not living at home; he was in Cathays not far from the Park. I imagined him living alone, grieving for his lost Lisa. I decided that a lonely guy like that who had been wandering around the Park at night might welcome a visit from a handsome man, someone to cheer up his sad and lonely life. I pondered the idea a bit more, for once not willing to jump in with both feet. This guy could be a bit special if I played my cards right. Or he could be a problem. Time to find out.

Getting to my feet, I put on the greatcoat again – he had said he liked it – before stopping in the Medical Bay for some low strength Retcon. On the drive back to Cathays I played out what was to come in my head. Would it be lust at second sight with us falling on one another or would I have to make him forget all about me? I so hoped it would be the former. Or maybe I could have both. That was appealing; great sex that I would remember even if he wouldn't. Turning into his road - Heol-y-Gwent – I wondered how it was properly pronounced. To me it looked like 'Holy Gwent' but somehow I just knew it would be so different if he said it. I had only heard him say a dozen words but those deep, rich Welsh vowels had really got to me. After parking, I finally found number 441; a flat at the top of the three story block. Deciding against ringing the bell, better to take him by surprise, I picked the lock and climbed the stairs. I rapped on the front door and ran a hand through my hair before he was in front of me, framed in the doorway.

"We meet again, Jones, Ianto Jones." I smiled my best smile, the one that makes knees turn to water. All it did to him was make him go white as a sheet and attempt to shut the door in my face. I was not having that. "Whoa, that's no way to greet a visitor." I pushed my way in, holding the door open against him pushing it closed.

"Please leave," he said. No lovely vowels, just curt and commanding.

"What? And pass up the chance to get better acquainted?"

I strolled past him into the living room. And stopped dead, my heart in my mouth and feeling cold and very, very scared. With no time to hesitate, no time to consider, I acted and I don't regret it. The … thing was lying on a bed and I fired, putting a bullet through its brain. Ripping the wires and tubes from its body, I didn't even notice that this had once been a beautiful woman. It was only later that I saw that.

"What have you done!?" Ianto Jones was in the doorway behind me. He rushed me but fell to the floor when the butt of the Webley made contact with his temple.

I had to sit down and collapsed into a chair, head between my knees taking deep breaths, feeling sick. I had expected to find the man lazing in front of the TV and hoped for a shag. But to find a Cyberman – shit! My hands were shaking as I thought of what might have happened if it had got loose. Earth overrun with Cybermen. Surely this fool boy had seen enough at Canary Wharf not to want to inflict that on anyone else? Pushing myself to my feet I went over to the bed and saw for the first time that it was a half-converted woman. I checked for a pulse and any other signs of life but didn't find any, thank God. The bullet had done its job. After slapping restraints on the unconscious man on the floor, I checked the rest of the flat in case he'd hidden more than one. It was clear, no monsters under the bed or in the wardrobe but plenty of kit obviously looted from Torchwood Tower. And a diary. That went into a coat pocket for reading later. I sat down again, knees still weak, and rested my head against the back of the chair.

I needed time to think, to pull myself together and took a moment. Then it was time to get things moving. Pulling out my mobile, I sent an emergency text to the team telling them to get to the flat immediately and was pleased when the three acknowledgements arrived inside four minutes, this team was good. With nothing to do but wait for them to arrive, I stayed in the chair and felt eyes upon me. Looking down I saw the boy, Ianto, was awake and staring at me with such hatred I was surprised I didn't curl up and die there and then.

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_To be continued … if you'd like me to._


	2. Chapter 2

_Jack has killed the Cyberwoman, what happens now?_

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**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Two

It was a strange time, the fifteen minutes Ianto Jones and I were alone in his flat before Owen arrived. The boy lay on the floor glaring at me but said nothing. Tears fell down his face but he didn't make a sound. Weird. After a bit I had to get away from him so went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. It was better to stand there, back to the sink staring at nothing, than be impaled on that gaze. On the fridge opposite were some photographs and after a bit I saw the girl, the one who had been converted, in some of them. Picking one for closer examination I recognised her; Lisa Hallett, the boy's girlfriend. The one I had seen in his records, the one presumed killed at Canary Wharf. It all made a bit more sense.

Owen arrived, angry at being called in as usual. "What is it, Harkness? This had better be good." He stomped into the living room as I shut the front door and stopped dead, taking in the bound man on the floor, the cyber conversion unit and the dead girl. "Shit!"

"We have to get her and all the stuff to the Hub."

"What about him?" Owen was looking at the boy who was glaring back at him, though with less venom than he had been using for me.

"He comes too." I didn't know what we were going to do with him but it would take more than a simple dose of low-level Retcon to sort him out. Leaving Owen, who was looking at the boy's head wound, I answered the door. Toshiko and Suzie had arrived together and I led them into the living room.

"Is that what I think it is?" said Toshiko, moving across to the cyber conversion unit. "I thought these were all destroyed." Her face was a mixture of horror and fascination. And pity for the woman lying there.

"So did I. Tosh, help Owen unhook … her and check it over. Make sure it's disconnected then start getting it broken down and into the SUV. Suzie, there's a lot of tech in the other rooms, scavenged from Torchwood One no doubt. You and I are going through every room, every cupboard and every drawer. I want the lot."

"Okay. Who's he?" Suzie indicated the boy on the floor. He was crying still and his head had flopped down to rest against the carpet, eyes closed. I noticed Owen had dressed the wound left by my gun butt, the plaster standing out against the boy's pale face.

"Jones, Ianto Jones. Ex-Torchwood One. We're taking him too."

The team got to work, efficiently and without fuss. None of them had been close to a Cyberman before but they'd seen the 'ghosts' and watched the Cyber Army as it stomped round Cardiff terrorising the locals. We'd been safe in the Hub where the defences had kept out the manifestations. It still amazed me that despite all that, despite the near destruction of the Tower and having Cybermen in their homes, people were still able to deny that aliens existed. It took several hours and several trips to get all the equipment and the bodies – one dead, one alive – safely to the Hub. It was around ten the following morning that I left Suzie to do a final sweep of the flat with a Petremulea detector that could sniff out even the smallest hint of alien technology. She would lock up and secure the place until we decided what to do with its surviving occupant. I had been at the flat for over twelve hours and neither I nor the rest of the team had had any sleep.

Driving back in Owen's car, he had gone in the SUV, I ran over what we had found and all we had done. The cyber equipment had been dismantled and removed along with the body. That would all have to be incinerated, it was too dangerous to leave it lying about. The various other bits of tech we had discovered would be inspected and added to the stores. It should be catalogued too but our records were so bad there was no point. We'd just dump it in with the rest and hope we'd be able to find it when we needed it. Which left only one outstanding matter: Ianto Jones. What to do with him? The flat had yielded no clues about friends or close relations and it was doubtful he'd have invited anyone round when he had his supposedly dead girlfriend in the living room. But there may be someone, perhaps another refugee from Torchwood One, that he'd confided in, someone also in on the secret. The boy would have to be questioned. At the same time, Toshiko could work her usual magic and check on communications the boy had had over recent months, ever since Canary Wharf in fact. And Suzie could delve into the background of everyone he had ever spoken to in his life.

Having parked and entered the Hub through the ever closed Tourist Office, I was pleased to find all was calm. "Tosh, what are you up to?" I asked, walking past her desk.

"Checking some of the equipment we found. It's mostly monitors and scanners, as it he was looking for something."

"Anything dangerous? Weapons?"

"Not so far."

"Okay. Where have you put him?"

"In the cells." She looked up at me and I could see she was about a make a plea on the boy's behalf. Toshiko has such a soft heart and wants to see good in everyone. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Not sure yet. But we can't let him wander round until we know what he knows. Speaking of which, get onto his phone calls and e-mails over the past few months. I want a complete record of who he's been talking to and, if you can do it, what he's been saying. Also, check the CCTV around his flat. I want to know where he was at all times and who visited him."

"Since when?"

"Since he moved in. If you can go back further, even better. When you've done that, we start on relations and friends, I want to know this guy better than I know myself. And do the same for Lisa Hallett."

"Is she …" Toshiko didn't continue, just nodded towards the Medical Bay.

"Yeah. She was this Jones' girlfriend and also worked at Torchwood One."

"It'll take a while," said Toshiko, concern on her face.

"I know. I'm not expecting it in the next hour." I smiled as I said this, making clear I mean it. Toshiko had a tendency to assume I want everything yesterday. "He's not going anywhere and I want a complete picture so take as long as you need but it takes priority over other tasks for now. Suzie will help when she gets back."

"Okay."

I was pleased to see her set aside the box of recovered tech and start immediately. She was good, she'd find what we needed. Moving on, I hung up my greatcoat putting the boy's diary in a desk drawer - not sure why but I was not willing to share its existence yet awhile - and went to the Medical Bay where I had spotted Owen and the Cyberman, Cyberwoman … whatever!

"What are you doing, Owen?"

"Getting her ready for autopsy. These implants are incredible." He looked up with that look of mingled curiosity and determination to understand that he gets when he sees new alien medical paraphernalia. That look was the reason I hired him but not what I wanted to see today.

"Before you get carried away, there won't be an autopsy. We know what happened to her and that stuff is too dangerous to meddle with."

"This is too good an opportunity to miss, Jack. If I can study this, how they were implanted into the brain, I may be able to reverse it. It could help if we ever have to face them again." I stood, my foot on the railing, and stared him down. He got the message and threw his scalpel away in disgust. "You'll regret this, Harkness, when you're the one being converted!"

"No, I won't. We need to get her to the incinerator and get rid of her and all the Cyber equipment."

"We could just put her in the morgue, she'd be safe there for the time being and then -"

"No, Owen. She gets incinerated here and now. Let's get cracking."

We did the body first. It took ages to destroy all the equipment. Owen and I trudged from the mound of stuff by the garage doors down to the incinerator on the fourth level so many times I lost count. It didn't help that the stuff was so unwieldy, we had to break most of it up first into manageable pieces then manhandle it down the stairs. I don't mind admitting that by the end I was knackered. But the job was done. The final load went into the incinerator just after two o'clock. Owen went back to the main level but I stayed to make sure that it was well on its way to destruction before I climbed the steps myself.

"There's pizza, Jack," called Suzie as I emerged from the archway.

"Great. I'm starved." The boxes were spread out on the coffee table and I grabbed a slice and downed it in two bites. "Finished at the flat?" I took one of the paper cups full of coffee; we must keep Starbucks in profits the amount we buy.

"Yep. Didn't find anything else. I've locked up." She handed me the keys. "Met one of the neighbours on the stairs and dropped a hint that the guy - Ianto is it? - that he'd been taken ill and gone to hospital."

"Good. Tosh can you -"

"Already done. Records show he's been admitted to a private psychiatric clinic," Toshiko interjected. She really is the best there is.

"Has anyone fed him?"

"I took down a pizza," said Suzie, "he didn't seem very interested." She swung round and pointed to one of the screens on Toshiko's desk. It showed the boy lying on the shelf bed with the pizza box on the floor untouched. "He may be suicidal, we ought to keep an eye on him. What do you think, Owen?"

"Highly likely. God knows what kind of survivor guilt or PTSD he's got going from Canary Wharf. And that was before he saw his girlfriend shot before his eyes last night." Owen looked at me accusingly as he spoke but I wasn't bothered, I'd done the right thing.

"Did you remove everything he might use to harm himself?" I was still watching the screen wondering what was going on in the boy's pretty head. Was he a nutcase or had he planned all this?

"Yeah, but there are other ways. He could use his teeth on his wrists." Owen said this matter-of-factly while chewing on his meat feast pizza. "I could sedate him."

"Not yet. Let's see how he settles down first. We can think about drugs if it becomes necessary." I was on my fourth slice of pizza and just beginning to feel better. With all the disturbances, I hadn't eaten for nearly a day. "Tosh, any Rift activity likely for the rest of the day?"

"Not much, I don't think." She turned back to her keyboard and tapped in a few commands. "No, it's clear until around five tomorrow morning."

"Okay. We've all been up a long time. Tosh, I'd like you to carry on with what we talked about for a while longer. You okay to stay?"

"Yes, I'm not too tired."

"Okay. Owen, Suzie, you clear up and head home. Be back in at four tomorrow. That's four in the morning, Owen, not the afternoon! Tosh you have a lie in."

"Want me to feed the inmates first?" asked Suzie, wiping her hands and mouth with a napkin.

"Please. And Owen, you can clean up round here before you go. This place is a tip." The scattered piles of empty food containers and beer cans were making the place look untidy and was probably unsanitary too. Add that to the equipment and other detritus spread around and it was miracle we ever found anything.

Downing the last of my coffee I left them to get on. They knew what they were doing and didn't need me watching over them. The office was tidier than the space outside, I tried to keep it clear of trash, but the desk was piled high with reports and case notes that I had planned on dealing with last night. I got on with them now and over the next couple of hours I cleared a lot. Before she went, Suzie had sent me an e-mail containing the team's notes on last night. She'd called it the 'Cyber-girlfriend Affair' which made me laugh. It reminded me of the boy downstairs.

"Tosh, you ought to be getting home," I told her as I walked out of the office. She was in her usual position, at her desk with all her screens active. No wonder she wears glasses.

"Actually, I think I will, if that's okay." She yawned, politely putting a hand to her mouth. That's my ladylike Toshiko.

"Sure. Let me have what you've got so far. I'll take a look at it later."

"Okay."

I left her, walking on to the lower level and then through the archway to the cells. It didn't look like Owen had made much of a job of cleaning up, there were still piles of discarded equipment and scraps of paper and food containers dotted about the place. Having lived in small rooms and spaceships most of my life I was aware of the need to be tidy; you can't have rubbish taking up valuable living space. Wandering into the block containing the boy, I remembered the first time I had been here way back when, a prisoner like Ianto. Bars at the doors then, of course, and no fancy electronic locks and monitoring equipment. Just Alice Guppy to scare me rigid. She was a real harridan, and she loved to torture and torment the prisoners - as I should know.

The boy was still lying on the shelf bed, curled on his side and sleeping. He looked so young, so peaceful and I felt a familiar stirring in my groin that I ruthlessly suppressed. The pizza box lay on the floor, untouched as far as I could see, though the water bottle was empty. What sort of bloke was he to keep a half-converted Cyberman in his flat? Was he mad? Had Canary Wharf tipped him over the edge? It had done that to a lot of other people. Only twenty seven had got out alive and ten of them were still in psychiatric institutions and unlikely to get out. The rest? Probably hanging on to their sanity by their fingernails. His diary should provide some clues.

I went back out of the block to the supplies kept at the end of the corridor and picked up another bottle of water and a blanket. Back in the cells, I opened the door and placed the blanket over him and put the bottle on the floor, removing the pizza box – it was still full – and the empty bottle. I had turned and was about to exit when the boy spoke.

"I hate you, Jack Harkness."

That stopped me in my tracks and I turned back to face him. He was still lying on his side but his eyes were open and once again fixed on me. Pure hatred flowed out of him. "I'm not particularly fond of you either," I said keeping my voice level.

"I am going to kill you."

"You can try." Leaving the cell I made sure it was secure then carried on up to the main levels.

Back in my office, alone now Toshiko had left, I looked at the paperwork and considered what to do. I could look at the reports, go through Toshiko's findings on the Jones boy and his girlfriend or get some rest. The latter was calling to me and I went off to my quarters, looking forward to a few hours sleep. It would be an early start in the morning.

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_More coming soon - reviews are always appreciated._


	3. Chapter 3

_It's the next morning and there's a Rift alert expected ..._

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**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Three

By four o'clock on Thursday morning when Suzie and Owen appeared – together but by coincidence I believed, their affair had ended months before – I was rested and ready for the day ahead. Suzie had brought in coffee from the all night place at the corner and we stood around drinking it while making plans.

"How's our boy?" asked Owen, checking the CCTV feed from the cells.

"Quiet," I replied. I had monitored him as well as the Rift for the past half an hour or so. "Other than threatening to kill me last night."

"Did he eat anything?"

I was a bit hurt that my team didn't care about the threat. They didn't know I couldn't die, that was a secret I was keeping for the time being as it was likely to freak them out. Or make them want to dissect me. "No. Drank a couple of bottles of water."

"Suppose he'll eat when he's hungry." Owen sipped his coffee. "What delights are we expecting to drop in on us today?"

"No idea. Better prepare the standard equipment boxes."

It was a running battle to keep the boxes stocked and I had grown tired of reminding them all of the need to use downtime for this basic preparation. I did some myself late at night but mainly we made them up when the need arose. Owen grunted and wandered off to the lower levels to start the job. Suzie had gone to her desk on the other side of the Hub. She liked it over there where she could spread out the various artefacts and weapons she was working on at any given time. I knew she would be monitoring the Rift so, having finished my coffee, I went to help Owen.

An hour later, Suzie called out, "It's Butetown. Medium spike."

"Okay. Owen, you and I'll go out there. Suzie, direct us in." I ran for my greatcoat and Webley while Owen struggled into his jacket. Grabbing the equipment boxes, two each, we were off.

That morning we were lucky. It was a piece of alien junk that fell through the Rift and ended up in a back garden. A quick check showed it to be harmless and Owen and I chucked it in the back of the SUV and got away before anyone was any the wiser. I wish all Rift openings could be like that. As Owen complained of hunger on the way back, we stopped and bought bacon sarnies for breakfast and more coffees.

"Breakfast," shouted Owen as he entered the Hub. He was already munching his sandwich and the sight and smell was making my mouth water. Dumping the equipment boxes, Owen dug into the bag of food and took a coffee and sandwich out. "I'll take this to the boy. Give him a once over at the same time." He was gone a while but I left him to it; Owen can look after himself. Suzie took her breakfast and the alien junk and was cooing over it softly at her desk, she adores anything new.

At my desk I ate as I went through the information Toshiko had found on Ianto Jones. It was all pretty unremarkable. Standard boyhood as the younger of two children. Father was a tailor until he died of heart disease in 2002 and mother was a personal shopper for a department store in Newport. Elder sister, Rhiannon, married to Johnny Davies by whom she had two kids. After university Ianto was recruited by Torchwood as a junior researcher – for which read lowest of the low. A totally non-operational role, he would have kept the records straight. Umm, I filed away that tidbit away for further thought. Met Lisa Hallett, an HR assistant, also working there and they were a couple for a year until her supposed death at Canary Wharf. All this was pretty innocuous stuff and I wondered again how this straight arrow came to smuggle a half-converted Cyberman from London to Cardiff. He had more about him than appeared on paper.

Toshiko had come up trumps again. Even in just a few hours, she had traced the boy's journey from his old London flat to the one in Cardiff. Filling in a few gaps with supposition, Ianto Jones had 'rescued' his Cyber-girlfriend and got her to the London flat in the confusion following the Battle. A week later, he rented the Cardiff place and moved in a further week after that presumably transporting the girlfriend shortly afterwards. CCTV of the area was patchy and there were no nice shots of him hefting her inside but he made a number of nighttime runs between London and Cardiff any one of which could have included her. He'd been in Cardiff two months now with no regular work, nor had he signed on for benefits. Flicking through the folder I found his financials and saw he had run down his accounts and was well into the red on his credit cards too. A couple of small deposits from his mother showed he'd taken loans from family. Back to the main report and Toshiko had found something else; Ianto Jones had been hanging around Mermaid Quay for the past week. Now why had he done that? I was about to check the phone records when Owen appeared.

"I got him to eat the sandwich," he reported, slumping in the visitor's chair. "I tried talking to him but didn't get far."

"If it's quiet today, I'd like a chat with him myself. Find out what he was doing with the Cyberman."

"Sooner the better in my opinion. Tosh sent me his medical reports from Torchwood One and he looked all right then but now … I'd say he has all the signs of PTSD. He'll only withdraw further if he's left to himself."

"Okay. You and I can have a chat with him but keep an eye until then."

"One thing. I don't think it'd be a good idea to Retcon him."

"Why not?" This interested me. If Retcon was not an option it left me with few alternatives.

"His fragile emotional state. A dose large enough to wipe out the past few months would tip him over the edge and I see him going psychotic and unable to function normally." He looked at me. "Best thing for him would be to bring him back to some kind of normal life."

Owen's suggestion surprised me. We rarely considered the effect our actions had on people, especially those who had transgressed in the way this boy had. "You going soft on me, Owen?"

"No! But … Well, he was one of us. He was Torchwood once. I just think we should cut him some slack, give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Or end it?" I've killed plenty of times – alien and human – and was not adverse to doing it again but only if the circumstances demanded it and there was no other option.

Owen said nothing, staring at his feet for several long minutes. He was the most pragmatic of the team and would not shy away from the ultimate solution if there was no alternative. "If we have to," he said at last, meeting my gaze, "but not unless it's essential. Like I say, we ought to give him a chance at rehabilitation."

We left it at that. Owen went off to his desk and I continued reading the folder of papers. Jones had made few phone calls and sent even fewer e-mails in the past couple of months and I was pretty sure he was acting alone. Which made his achievements all the more remarkable. Toshiko had come in now and brought more coffee with her. We are going to have to use the machine we've got. Trouble is, none of us can work the damned thing properly! I put aside the folder of papers and took out the boy's diary. This was going to be the key to unlocking the mystery.

What I read changed my mind about him completely.

-ooOoo-

The cells are heated to the same temperature as the rest of the Hub but it always seems colder down here. Just the nature of the place, I guess. Suzie had fed the two resident Weevils – both recovering from injuries – and we had few other occupants. It was too much work to keep them here for long and they either get sent back through the Rift or UNIT takes them for us. Ianto Jones was therefore the only occupant of his block and he looked lonely, crouched on the shelf bed, the blanket wrapped round his shoulders.

"Chinese," I said holding up the bag, "and coffee." I waited but he said nothing. The only indication he had heard me was a momentary flicker of his eyes my way.

Taking out the container of prawns and rice, I shoved it and the coffee through the food slot together with a plastic spoon. He made no move but I ignored him and settled cross-legged on the floor outside the cell and opened up my own food. I got on and ate and when I was half way through, he moved to get his meal. He had a natural grace and the skinny jeans and short jacket he was still wearing made him look good. I went on eating and watched him settle back on the shelf bed and tuck in.

"Cybermen were created in a parallel universe. They were a madman's solution to the fact that he was dying. He considered himself so important, he wanted to continue to live outside his failing body." I spoke conversationally but loud enough for the boy to hear. "When the Government of the time disagreed with him, he took matters into his own hands and used his considerable fortune to create a Cyber army. Know how he did it?" I asked, laying aside the empty food container and draining the coffee.

The boy did not answer and he was not looking at me but he was interested, I could sense it, and for once he didn't look like he was going to murder me as soon as he could. Not that it would do him a lot of good. Might give him some satisfaction I suppose but when I came back again he might regret the momentary pleasure as I'd have to kill him. Can't have people knowing my little secret, not until I've got it fixed.

"No?" I continued, relating more of the story I'd obtained from Torchwood One's records. "He rounded up homeless men and women, tore the brains out of their heads and inserted them in mechanical bodies. And to finish the job he removed their feelings and emotions." I had been watching him and saw him pale and put aside the food. "He had to do that, you see, because otherwise those people would have been so appalled by what had happened to them they would have gone mad. Can you imagine it, trapped in a metal body? Now that's hell."

The Jones boy still said nothing but he was listening intently. He looked at me then looked away and I waited, thinking he was going to say something but he didn't.

"He set his little army to work and killed the head of Government, tried to take over his world. But he was stopped. Unfortunately the remaining army was left in a large holding area and allowed to stay there while the debate raged on about what to do with them. In the end, they decided for themselves and made a link with this universe and the stupid people you used to work for let them through. They opened up a doorway, at first just a bit but eventually all the way, and the Cybermen came marching through to take over this world. 'Cos that's what they do. The logical bastards believe we humans are sub-standard just gagging to be upgraded to Cybermen ourselves. That's what they started with your colleagues. With Lisa." That got his attention.

"She was not one of them," he shouted, standing and moving threateningly to the cell door. "She was Lisa Hallett and she could have been saved but you killed her!"

I was on my feet now, facing him with just the door between us. "She was a Cyberman. And all her kind understands is domination. If she had got loose, she'd have started upgrading all the humans she met."

"She didn't upgrade me!"

"She needed you! You were keeping her alive and making her stronger." I wasn't shouting like him but I was emphasising the points I was making. I hoped it would get through to him. "When she could survive alone, you'd have been converted too and then you would have both carried on where Canary Wharf left off."

"No, no, she was fighting it. She was my Lisa, she was!"

I lowered my voice, made it more reasonable. "However hard she tried - and I take your word she did – she would not have succeeded. I'm sorry."

He paused and looked at me and I thought we'd made a connection but then he was backing away, shaking his head and climbing back on the shelf bed. "No, I won't believe you." He curled up under the blanket, his back to me, continuing to mutter, "No".

I went back up to my office. Owen and Toshiko were by her desk and had obviously been watching the CCTV feed but they said nothing. Suzie looked over from her desk and shrugged, leaving it at that. Thankfully, we had an alert that afternoon that kept us all busy. A pack of hungry Hoix were in the tunnels and basements of the Millennium Stadium. Rounding them up had us running all over the place and Suzie stayed behind to Retcon the by-standers and schmooze with the police who had attended. She was good at that stuff. The rest of us got the lovely task of bedding down the Hoix in the cells which took time. The Jones boy looked a bit startled to have a couple of Hoix for neighbours; what did he think the cells were for?

It had been a long day for all of us and when Suzie got back I took pity on the team. We all went to the pub, my treat. Owen downed a few pints and was well on his way to being pissed. Suzie had plenty too but she holds it much better than our medic and she was still capable of rational conversation. It left Toshiko and I as the sober ones; me because alcohol doesn't affect me any more and her because she's not a great drinker. A couple of Spritzers is enough for her. After an hour or two drinking and eating a curry, I left them to it. There were reports to be written and anyway, they don't always want the boss around. Let them have a chance to bitch and moan about me.

I enjoyed the walk back to the Hub. It was a clear night and the sky was full of stars. Leaning on the railing outside the Tourist Office, I looked up and my mind took me away from this little galaxy and I was travelling among the stars, free to go wherever I wanted. There were times when I regretted being stuck on this planet but with the vortex manipulator burnt out and no handy spaceship I was here for the foreseeable future. But any day, any day now The Doctor was going to come and I could shake the dust of this place off my boots for good. Suzie could take over the team, she was dependable and competent and would do all right. It surprised me to realise, as I leant there on the railing, looking over to the barrage, how much I would miss this little team of mine.

With a sigh, I walked through the Tourist Office that wasn't. We were going to have to do something about the place, I thought as I looked round. It was a pain keeping it open however irregularly but there needed to be some reason why we used a door here. It had been easier when the area was unreclaimed docklands and there was no one to see us come and go. Now there were tourists and revellers at all times of the day and night and we had to have some kind of cover. But making it a Tourist Office was not my finest hour.

I left any further consideration for another time and travelled down in the lift to the Hub. A quiet evening was what I expected, it wasn't what I got.

* * *

_Next time, Jack and Ianto talk some more ..._


	4. Chapter 4

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* * *

_

Ianto is let out of the cells ...

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Four

A Hoix howls when it's distressed. People think a baby's cry is irritating but they should try five adult Hoix spread over two cell blocks howling for an hour or two. It was sending needles through my brain and eventually I had had enough. I also, belatedly, remembered the boy down there with them. If it was bad for me it would be ten times worse for him. It took a while but I eventually found the universal sedative where Owen had hidden it and went down armed with it and ear defenders. In the first cell block, I shot the sedative darts into the three Hoix with little trouble. They crumpled to the floor and their noise lessened to a dull moan but the remaining two in the other block continued to howl. Here I had a bit more trouble as they sensed something had happened to their fellows and did all they could to make a clear shot harder than ever but finally I got them both down.

The Jones boy was curled up in his cell with his arms over his head. Opening the door, I chucked a pair of ear defenders on the floor in front of him. He looked startled, not having heard me, but scrabbled to put them on. While the howling had stopped the moaning that took its place carried on. It was pitched so low it travelled down the auditory nerves to the brain and was almost as bad; the defenders helped. I gestured for the boy to come out of the cell and herded him up the stairs to the main levels. The moaning was inaudible here and I took the defenders off with relief; I hate wearing the things, they muss up my hair.

"You can take them off now," I said, gesturing to the defenders. Cautiously the boy removed them and shook his head, probably still got ringing in his ears same as me. "Want a drink?"

"Yes." He was eyeing me and the surroundings warily, can't say I blame him.

Leaving him looking round, I went up to the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles of water. I wasn't concerned about leaving him free to roam around. The loaded dart gun was tucked in my waist band and I had a stun gun in my pocket as well as having sealed the armoury and exits. Besides, while I took no chances, I did not expect him to make any kind of move on me. If he was the man I thought he was, he would suss out the place before deciding what to do next. Standing in the work area, I saw him doing exactly what I had expected and smiled.

"Here's your drink," I said, holding out the bottle. "If you're hungry, help yourself."

He walked up to me and took the water saying nothing. Maybe he thought it was all a trick. After a disgusted look round the unappealing kitchen, he poked about in the fridge finding some stale bread and cheese which he toasted. It smelt good. "I didn't know Hoix made a noise like that," he commented finally, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Something you don't learn from the records."

"Yeah." He understood that I had researched him, that I knew all about him, and seemed resigned to the fact.

He ate his toast hungrily, all the time looking round at the equipment scattered around. Only Toshiko's desk, where I was sitting, was relatively tidy. The rest looked a mess despite, or maybe as a result of, Owen's efforts the day before. The equipment boxes were where he and I had left them that morning and empty food containers and cans were cluttering up the floor along with stains the cause of which even I didn't know. I saw it with new eyes and realised something REALLY had to be done about it.

"Sorry I didn't get you out of there earlier." I tried the friendly approach, hoping he would respond.

"What are you going to do with me?" he asked, laying aside his plate.

"I don't know. What should I do with you?"

"Torchwood article five, sub-section fourteen -"

I interrupted him. "You can forget that execution crap! Torchwood One has gone and that means we can ditch the outdated and plain stupid articles." I stood up, pleased to have an audience on which to try out my new approach. I'd been devising it for a while and there were still kinks to be worked out but it was the way I was going to take my team for the little time I had left with them. "Whatever Queen Victoria meant when she drew up that Charter she was plain bonkers. The Doctor is not our enemy and not all aliens are threats. Everything has a right to live provided it accords us the same right. Torchwood's role is changing. We are here to protect Earth and will use whatever means are available and necessary but we are also here to foster understanding with other beings when we can. So executing people who get in our way is not mandatory any more." I paused to take a breath.

"What's the alternative?" he interjected in the gap. "Are you going to keep me locked up here for the rest of my life?"

"Normally I'd Retcon you." I saw he didn't understand. "Oooh, something the great Torchwood One didn't know about? It's a drug, an amnesia pill that could take away your memories of the past three days, three months or three years. However, my doctor advises me you may not be a good candidate."

He looked at me blank faced for a moment or two. "I don't want to forget Lisa. She meant everything to me. I loved her," he added under his breath, looking at his feet.

"I know. That's the only reason I'm talking to you." That surprised him.

"What?"

"You loved Lisa Hallett and saved, or thought you saved her from Canary Wharf. Your plan to remove the implants and return her humanity were naïve but commendable in their way. It wouldn't have worked but I don't blame you for trying." I paused, trying to judge how he was taking this but he had that unreadable expression on his face. He'd be a great poker player. "In your position, I might have done the same."

I had got all this from his diary. In those pages he had set out his great plan for rescuing his lost love from her metal prison, to paraphrase his words. It was hopelessly naïve and idealistic but no one could fault his loyalty to the woman. Unfortunately, the diary had also revealed that a lot of the planning – scavenging equipment and trying to infiltrate the Hub – had originated with her. She had been conscious and telling him what to do. No doubt he thought she really wanted to become human once more: I knew better.

"You killed her."

"Yes, I did. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." I paused for effect. "I killed a Cyberman while I had the chance before it could make me, you and everyone on this planet just like it. It may have had your girlfriend's body but that was not your girlfriend." I was standing close to him, looking down and trying to impress on him how dangerous it could have been. He looked away first. Was that a sign he agreed with me? Probably not, it was too soon for him to understand fully but in time maybe there was hope.

Deciding to lessen the tension, I picked up the dirty plate and empty water bottles and took them to the kitchen. I added the plate to the stack waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher and stuck the bottles in the overflowing bin. I'd have to get Suzie in here on some pretext. She hated mess too and once she saw this she'd organise the others to clear the place before we got vermin running around. Back at the work area, Jones had moved from the sofa. I found him in the medical bay by a tray of instruments which no doubt contained a scalpel or two. He was obviously not giving up hope of getting out or killing me.

"I advise you not to take anything sharp. I don't want to have to hurt you." I was at the railings looking down on him and his back stiffened at my words.

"You're very sure of yourself." He turned and made a show of dropping the scalpel in his right hand back onto the tray.

"Against a filing clerk? No contest."

We stared at one another for a moment or two and I still liked what I saw. He was cute, no getting away from it. Of course, after twenty four hours in the cells he was rumpled and grimy but that didn't detract from his overall good looks and fit body. Even enhanced it a little. I felt like jumping on him there and then, especially as I realised I still hadn't had the shag I craved.

"Want a shower?" I asked, and I swear it was not a line to get him naked in front of me, although that would be a welcome bonus. It was the result of the whiff of unwashed body that floated my way. He nodded, obviously surprised at the offer. "Then put the other scalpel, the one in your left hand, on the tray and we can go."

He managed a wry grin this time and I smiled back; it's always satisfying when an opponent recognises when he's beaten. He replaced the second scalpel and moved towards me. I stepped back, leaving space between us and kept him in front of me as I directed him to the bathroom. It was not a huge room - three showers and the same number of wash basins and toilets - but it gets a lot of use. Dealing with aliens can get us pretty messy. Standing in the middle of the tiled space he looked at me but I did not move. I was not letting him out my sight. Shrugging, he stripped off his clothes and stepped into a shower cubicle. I went through the clothes to make sure he had not secreted anything else he could use as a weapon and was reassured to find nothing; I was not losing my touch. The clothes were grimy and needed a wash but he had no others. I got clean underwear and socks from our store cupboard – not as snazzy as his but they would do - and put them all tidily on the side. Someone could get him some other clothes some time, once we'd decided what to do with him.

He turned off the water and stepped out, not ashamed of what was a very nice body indeed but not flaunting it. Toned and slightly hairy, it was just as I like a body to be and I took my time looking him up and down. He didn't flinch but he couldn't meet my eyes and there was touch of a blush all over his pale skin. He reached for a towel and started drying himself, not briskly as I'd expected so he could cover himself up as fast as possible, but slowly and sensuously. My God, I realised, he was trying to seduce me! I laughed, I couldn't help myself. He was so young and innocent and his moves were clumsy and awkward; he'd not done this before. Irritated, he got to work with the towel and started to dress, not even commenting on the replacement underwear.

"Come on," I said when he was fully dressed once more. I let him go before me again and directed him back to the cells. I put him in a different block with just one of the injured Weevils to keep him company. The Hoix were quiet now so he should be able to sleep. When he was safely locked up, I stopped outside the door and looked at him sitting on the shelf bed. "If you want to sleep with me, just ask." He blushed bright red and I was happy for the rest of the night.

-ooOoo-

Daylight swept over the Bay bringing the possibility of a dry, sunny day. We don't get many of those in Cardiff, it's usually wet and cloudy, so I wanted to make the most of it. I was out in the Plass, sitting on the steps and enjoying a coffee from the restaurant that was always the first to open in the morning. Waiting here reminded me what normal life was like for these people: the commute to work, eight hours at a desk or in a shop or factory, commute home again and, if they were lucky, some telly before lights out and starting all over again. Not much, maybe, but I was happy to ensure they were able to carry on living their mundane little lives and not be bothered by aliens dropping on them from the Rift. It keeps me busy until The Doctor arrives. I had almost finished my coffee when the tall brunette I was waiting for appeared and walked in front of the Millennium Centre. Her dusky skin gave her a touch of the exotic and I remembered how smooth it felt under my hands when we were … I stopped that thought straight away. Our little fling had been short but sweet and neither of us were going back there.

"Suzie!" I called, seeing she was going to walk right past me. Lord knows what she was thinking of, how could anyone miss me? I waved her over and she joined me on the steps.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, looking round in case of alien activity.

"Wanted a breath of fresh air and a word."

"Is it the boy?" She looked me straight in the eye, something I've always liked about her. She is straightforward and direct, no messing about from our Suzie.

"Yeah. I've been thinking of using him."

"You don't need my permission to bed him, Jack."

"Almost did last night, he was trying it on with me."

"You're kidding."

"Nope, the whole seduction thing but I'm not that easy." I was pleased to see her laugh, she doesn't do it enough. "What I'm thinking is that he could be useful round the Hub. He's an archivist and Lord knows we need someone to sort out the disaster that is our archives. And he could clean the place up a bit. What do you think?"

She shrugged. "Not a bad idea, the rest of us don't have time. But how are you going to keep him out of trouble? Assuming you don't want him killing us or running off."

"I have something that'll keep him close and it's only me he wants to kill. I can look after myself."

"Then go for it. If it doesn't work out he can go back in the cells."

She stood up and I joined her, crushing the empty paper coffee cup and throwing it into a handy bin. We walked round to the Tourist Office and I wondered to myself if this was something else the boy could help with. Not yet, I'd not trust him this far away from the rest of us, but in time maybe he could lick the place into shape.

Leaving Suzie in the Hub, I grabbed the boy's keys and went off to his flat. It was the first time I'd been back and I was pleased with the clean up job the others had done. No one would have known there had been a Cyberman here. I found a small holdall and shoved some clothes into it – jeans and tops, boots and more of the fancy underwear. I was surprised to find three pristine suits in the wardrobe and was tempted to take one of them too but decided against it. If my plan worked out, I'd let him come and get more stuff but until then this would do. With a final look round, I locked up and drove back to the Hub taking my time for once. Suzie called with an order for more coffees for everyone so I grabbed those and some flapjacks before taking the invisible lift down into the base.

* * *

_Will Ianto go along with Jack's plan?_


	5. Chapter 5

_Many thanks for the kind reviews and to those who have put this story on alert. Will Ianto accept Jack's offer to help the team?_

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**Strange Encounters**

Chapter Five

We had barely drunk our coffee before we had Weevils to round up. I sent Suzie and Owen and left Toshiko, who was still looking through the items we'd liberated from Ianto Jones' flat, to keep an eye on them. After setting up the security I needed inside the Hub, I took a bottle of water and a spare flapjack down to the cells and our prisoner. He'd had some breakfast, Suzie had looked after that, but offering him a snack might make him more receptive to my idea. In my experience, bribery usually works. The Hoix were quiet still, after a few hours of captivity they go into a kind of trance-like state which was fine by me. We'd have to do something with them soon though, can't keep them for ever. Must ask Suzie to talk to UNIT about taking them off our hands.

"Morning," I said cheerily as I stood outside Ianto Jones' cell. "Elevenses." I pushed the water and flapjack through the slot in the door.

He looked at me from his perch on the shelf bed but didn't move. "How long are you going to keep me here?" His voice was low and the Welsh accent was more pronounced and a little shiver ran down my spine – it was so sexy.

I shrugged. Truth was, I had no idea what to do with him in the long term. "Don't know. But I might be willing to let you out of the cell." I thought I noticed a quickening of interest but it was gone very quickly so I might have been wrong.

He said nothing, just waited so I did too. I drew over a chair and sat down in front of the cell, looking at him. He really was a handsome guy and I was enjoying the view. The little short jacket fitted really well as did the tight jeans. I didn't get the full effect of those as he was sitting down but after a few minutes my patience was rewarded when he got up and bent over to pick up the water and bag with the flapjack in it. Oh yeah, those jeans were very snug. He was back on the shelf bed and opening the water when his curiosity forced him to speak.

"Go on then. What do I have to do to get out of here?" He tipped his head back and I got a great view of his neck as he gulped down the drink. I don't think there's a part of him that isn't gorgeous.

"Sort out our archives."

He choked at that, gasping and making weird noises until he could catch his breath. "What!?"

"Sort out our archives," I repeated. "They're … a mess," I admitted. "You're an archivist, you've worked at Torchwood One and know the paperwork we have to keep. It would give you something to do and help us. It's a win-win situation." I was not going to let him near the more dangerous artefacts, too much potential for harm, but a paper cut wouldn't kill him.

"You'd let me wander round this place just to get your filing done?"

"Yep. But," I added after a beat, "you'd have to wear this."

I held up the bracelet. It was one of the pair we'd used to keep Margaret the Slitheen and sometime Lord Mayor of Cardiff in check. We – me and The Doctor. A long time ago and not so long ago. Two years ago I'd had to live that time again, confined to the Hub with the team while my younger self was cavorting about topside. I'd been happy back on my first visit to 2006 Cardiff, still getting to know The Doctor and Rose and having fun. Didn't know then that it wasn't going to last. I should have gone up there and told the innocent sap that I was just what was going to happen. Shaking myself back to the here and now I saw the boy watching me, interested.

"What?" I demanded.

"I asked, what is that thing?" He nibbled on the flapjack, like a rabbit, and his nose twitched too – he really is delicious.

"A bracelet." He pulled a face but still managed to look damned good. God, I was going to have to shag him soon. "You wear it all the time and if you attempt to remove it or to leave the base – ZAP! Ten thousand volts will rip through you and that is not good, believe me. And if you try and overpower any of us – it'll zap you." The last was not quite true but it may stop him trying.

"And if I don't agree?"

"You sit there in your own muck until I can figure out what to do with you." I had the feeling, from the look of him and from his flat, that he was the neat and tidy type who would not like wearing the same clothes for long. He had certainly welcomed the shower last night. I crossed my legs – thinking of the shower was not good, not good at all. "Could take a while." I waggled the bracelet enticingly.

"I could make it so you can't find anything in your archives, what then?"

That had me laughing so long and so loud he looked nervous. I must have been red in the face by the time I got my breath back. "We can't find anything now!" I finally gasped. "Calling them archives is a bit of a misnomer. It's piles of stuff all over the place." I swear he shuddered when I said that though I was drying my eyes at the time so can't be sure.

"All right. But just because I agree, doesn't mean I won't stop trying to kill you."

"Fair enough." He had no idea how much I'd like him to succeed.

Getting up, I opened the door and motioned him out. He came slowly and held out his left arm. I put the bracelet round his wrist and heard the satisfying click as it time locked. Only I could get that off him. I led him out of the cell block and up the stairs to the main level.

"This is Toshiko Sato, our technical genius, also known as Tosh. Ianto's going to sort out our archives," I told her suddenly realising I hadn't mentioned my plan to her or Owen.

"Ianto," she said in her quiet, polite way. I swear she'd be polite to the Prince of Darkness himself if he came to call. Then she went back to the screens where I could see Suzie and Owen still charging about Splott after Weevils. My Tosh is a bright girl and she'd seen the bracelet, actually it would be hard to miss.

I chucked Ianto the holdall I'd packed for him. "Go and change, you know where the facilities are, and be back here in ten." I continued on to my office. His footsteps were loud in the quiet of the Hub.

-ooOoo-

He was back in nine minutes and thirty seconds precisely. More jeans, these not quite such a snug fit, and a sweatshirt from UoW Aberystwyth which he'd pulled down to cover the bracelet. He stood in the office in front of the desk as I finished a call to Tom, a contact at the Assembly, looking around him openly. Nothing missed his searching gaze and he didn't stop looking round when I put the receiver down.

"Like what you see?" I asked, leaning back in the chair.

"This place is a tip." His level gaze met mine.

"Hard to keep cleaners. I'll give you the tour." Standing, I said, "This is my office, keep out unless invited."

Leading the way out of the door, I showed him the medical bay which he had seen the previous evening – I'd have to talk to Owen about leaving sharp objects lying around. Down on the lower level, I noticed the various piles of alien tech which had accumulated around the place but none of it was dangerous. We were by Suzie's desk when she and Owen returned, one sedated Weevil in tow.

"How did it go?" I asked, turning to face them.

Owen snorted in disgust. "Same as bloody usual. There were three of them. Killed an old man and traumatised his wife, doubt she'll ever leave the bleeding house again. We had to shoot two of them." The doctor was in front of us now. "What's he doing out and about?" he asked, gesturing to the boy and leaving Suzie to take the Weevil down to the cells.

"New recruit." I'd said it sarcastically and was surprised when the boy, must learn to call him Ianto, turned red. Then I remembered the diary entries about him wanting to join us – he'd got his wish in a roundabout way.

"Doing what?"

"Sorting the archives, 'bout time we knew what was down there."

"And how are you planning on keeping him from killing us? Or himself?"

"Well, for a start you can keep your scalpels under lock and key - as you're supposed to. For the rest, I think this'll stop him." He grabbed Ianto's wrist and pulled the sleeve up showing the heavy metal bracelet.

"Jeez, that thing'll kill an elephant!"

"Then let's hope he's a good boy." I smiled at Ianto and released his arm. "Come on."

The archives were worse than even I remembered and I was probably the one who came down here most. Spread over five levels in rooms off many interlocking tunnels, the archives house paper records as well as artefacts and medical samples. One large room was supposedly the registry but was actually where papers were dumped waiting to be filed. It had been like that for years, before I took over, but when I was on my own it had descended into total chaos and stayed that way. My one attempt at order was to put all operational reports on one desk, I was quite proud of that innovation, though we still had to sift through the lot to find the one we wanted. Four drawer filing cabinets, papers sticking out of them, lined one wall and the rest of the floor was covered with folders stacked up or fallen over and was in two words – a mess.

"This is the registry," I said, swinging round surveying the room, a graveyard full of paper. "Start in here."

"Where?" asked the boy sarcastically.

"Operational reports, these in the green folders." I walked to the desk and patted the nearest pile which promptly overbalanced and everything slid sideways. I grabbed the top ones but the rest just continued their irresistible journey to the floor.

He looked at me witheringly then pulled up his sleeves. "When was the last time anything was filed properly?"

"Umm, around 1974. There was a good archivist then." Kelly had been her name, Irish girl from Cork with a bubbly nature and a love of order. She'd talk the hind legs of a donkey given half a chance but she could lay her hands on papers in a trice. She was poisoned by Voluvian gas.

"Is it all paper? Surely some has been computerised." His lovely blue eyes were looking at me imploringly and I didn't want to disappoint him but I couldn't lie so I just grinned and shrugged. "Nothing computerised," he said finally in a defeated tone correctly interpreting my body language. He took another look round and sighed. "Where do you keep the cleaning materials?"

Now that threw me and I just stared at him. How did he know I was thinking of getting him to clear up the Hub? "What?" Not my best comeback but all I could manage.

"Before I do anything I need to remove the years of dust in here."

"Oh, there's some down here." I led him down the corridor and opened a cupboard with a vacuum cleaner, dusters, mop and bucket and other paraphernalia. It was all in pristine condition as we'd never got round to using it.

"Water?" He was reaching for the bucket and the mop.

"Here." In an adjoining room was a large iron sink and a tap.

He turned on the tap and after some knocking and banging from the pipes water eventually flowed, brown and smelling disgusting. He looked at me and I knew exactly what he thought of me and Torchwood Three – he had a very expressive face when he wanted.

"I'll leave you to it," I said breezily. "We'll let you know when lunch arrives."

With that I made my escape, whistling a cheery little ditty I had made up. I had no idea what kind of a job he would make of the archives but it truly couldn't be any worse than it was.

Had boss-like chats with the rest of the team next, going from one to another checking on what they were doing and getting an update on progress. I'd read that this was what real bosses did to motivate their staff so had taken to doing it from time to time. Not sure it worked, my people never seemed to do anything different after my little walkabout. They still went their own way.

First up was Suzie, still drooling over the tech we'd found the day before and the wretched Glove that had been fished from the Bay. She is getting obsessed with the thing. The knife found with it is obviously linked to it – same design and metal – but who knows how. Owen was not busy although the uncompleted reports on his desk were a good indication of what he should be doing. I bawled him out about them again but it was in one ear and out the other with him. He was happy to go and buy lunch though and shot out of the Hub like the Daleks were after him. We wouldn't see him, or the lunch, for a couple of hours. My quietest team member, Toshiko, was busily engaged in three things at once any one of which would have stymied a lesser mortal. She was running a translation program, examining the artefacts we'd found at Ianto's flat and upgrading her Rift predictor program. She is a marvel and I really, really don't know what I'll do without her when her five year stint here is complete. I shall have to offer really big bucks to keep her. If she's still alive, of course.

-ooOoo-

We ate lunch in the Boardroom in deference to our 'guest'. Owen had plumped for Chinese and the boxes were spread about on the table as we dipped in and passed them around. Ianto looked a bit grubby again and with his designer stubble – I accidentally on purpose forgot to bring his shaving gear – looked good enough to eat. He sat opposite me at one end of the table, eating chicken and rice and watching the rest of us. He's very wary still and only answered questions addressed directly to him and even then kept his answers short and sweet. No one pushed it, but his dour presence did put a bit of a damper on the meal restraining even Owen's wilder excesses. Food finished, we all got up to leave and started the usual wrangle over who would clear the table.

"I got the stuff so it's not my job," smirked Owen and walked off. I swear he was swinging his hips which just goes to prove how randy I am right now. Me watching Owen's hips? I am so desperate.

"Would you mind, Tosh?" asked Suzie. "I've got to call UNIT about the Hoix." She smiled disarmingly and followed Owen. Devious, is our Suzie, I know for a fact she called UNIT over an hour ago.

Poor Toshiko sighed and started gathering the boxes. She gets lumbered with these kinds of jobs way too often, she just won't stand up to the others. I decided it was time to put the second bit of my plan into operation. "Leave that, Tosh, I need you to get on with what you were doing. Ianto, clear this up."

Toshiko looked from me to him and back again and few times. "I don't mind, Jack." She carried on.

Ianto stared at me and his face was unreadable. I honestly couldn't tell what he was thinking and that's rare for me. Finally he turned to Toshiko. "I don't mind helping," he said with a small smile. "Do you have a rubbish sack?"

I left them to it and ran down the steps to my office. Between telephone calls and paperwork, I watched the pair of them. They seemed to be getting on quite well and that made me a tad suspicious; was Ianto pumping her for information? Have to warn her not to get too friendly. At least they were doing a good job. They ended up with four sacks of rubbish as today's food containers were joined by others that had been abandoned around the place to fester over the past week. I even saw Ianto empty the bin in the kitchen. I'd have liked to watch for longer but it was time for my weekly chat with the Prime Minister and she doesn't like to be kept waiting.

* * *

_Next time, Ianto finds the coffee machine …_


	6. Chapter 6

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Six

The afternoon was livelier than the morning. We had a Rift alert and Owen and I went out to deal with it. I gave Suzie instructions about Ianto, didn't want him thinking he could get away with anything when there were fewer of us around, and she promised to watch him. She's usually reliable so I'll have to trust she keeps her eyes open.

Owen and I chased around Cathays for over three hours. The Rift had dumped three Immikak and the pesky things had decided to run in different directions and hide. As they are chameleons it was almost impossible to spot them by eye; we had to rely on Toshiko and our own PDAs and even then Owen actually fell over one that was disguised as a waste basket. He got really sniffy when I let it escape but I was laughing too hard to get a good hold on the feathery creature. Finally, we rounded up all three and had them sedated and in the back of the SUV. Driving back, ignoring Owen's continuing complaints, I found another job for our new 'recruit'. The SUV was disgusting. It had not been cleaned - inside or out – for days and transporting Hoix, Weevils and now Immikak made it smell revolting. Ianto would be just the person to get the thing spick and span again.

Pleased at finding another task for the boy, I was in a good mood when I strode into the Hub, a caged Immikak in either hand. I stopped dead. There was a wonderful aroma in the air. Setting down the cages, I went up the steps to the work area, following my nose. "What is that smell?" I asked Toshiko. She and Suzie were standing near the kitchen door with mugs in their hands and smiles on their faces. Those mugs were the source of the smell.

"Coffee?" asked Ianto, proffering a mug.

I took it and smelt it, almost swooning at the aroma. I'll admit to a stray thought about poison or some such but the smell was enticing and, anyway, I would come back again. "Wow!" The first taste was magnificent. The coffee was strong and black, just as I like it, and tasted like no coffee I had drunk before - hazelnuts and vanilla, I decided.

"Let's have one then," said Owen coming up alongside me. The ragged cut on his forehead caused when it had met the pavement looked raw and blood had run down and congealed on his face. He took his mug and made smacking noises as he drank.

I saw Ianto pale when he looked at Owen – memories of Canary Wharf perhaps – and he swallowed hard. I didn't see it as weakness, it rather endeared him to me. Mind you, he didn't need to do anything more than keep giving me coffee like this.

"Where did this come from?" I asked, raising the mug to my lips again.

"Ianto made it." Toshiko sounded like a mother whose child had done his party trick. She was fussing round Owen, besotted with the doctor who was totally oblivious. Ah well, she could have worse hobbies.

"How?"

"Uh, coffee machine?" Ianto replied sarcastically. He seemed to have regained some of his colour and was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"That bloody thing doesn't work," interjected Owen, drinking just as avidly as the rest of us and batting off Toshiko's attempts to clean him up.

"Ianto made it work." Toshiko preened, I kid you not, she actually preened at the success of her protégé. I was going to have to keep a close eye on her; she could well trust him too far and pay the consequences.

"Well, you got yourself a job, Teaboy," said Owen, grinning evilly. "Come on, Harkness, you've got to stitch me up." He went off to the medical bay and I followed with Toshiko trotting along with us to look after her wounded hero.

Over my shoulder, I said, "Suzie, look after the Immikak. There's one in each cage." That's the problem with not being able to see the pesky things, never sure where they are.

After a bit of expert first aid, if I say so myself, I sent Owen home in Toshiko's care. A bash on the head, no matter how funny at the time, can have serious consequences and better he have a few hours to rest. Toshiko was driving and if she had any sense she'd find a reason for going in and staying with him. What can I say, I'm a romantic at heart. Suzie was downstairs seeing to the inmates, not so many now as the Hoix were picked up this afternoon apparently. I found Ianto in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher. The place looked … well, bigger. The stack of dirty crockery was gone, the ever present mugs were neatly arrayed on a shelf, the bin was not only empty it was clean, the various boxes of detergent and such were not on the floor like usual. I was pretty sure the floor had been cleaned too, I certainly wasn't sticking to it.

"All your work?" I asked looking round. Had the walls been washed?

"Toshiko said you wouldn't mind. I know you wanted the papers sorted but," he shrugged, "if I'm going to be here for a while I'd rather not get food poisoning." He carried on taking out the crockery and putting it away in the cupboards – first time anyone's bothered in months.

"I'm more than happy. Thanks, you're doing a great job." He glanced my way, expecting sarcasm I suppose, but I really meant it. I'd hoped he would clean the Hub up a bit but this was beyond even my wildest dreams.

"Most of the others have gone home. You can stop too, if you want."

"And do what?" He straightened, last plate in hand, and looked at me. "Going to put me back in my cell?"

"Nowhere else for you to go."

"I'm not tired. I'll carry on clearing this place up." He indicated the whole Hub, not just the kitchen.

"Okay. Just stay on this level." I eased myself off the wall where I was leaning and sauntered to the office.

Suzie and I spent the next two hours in the dreaded monthly budget meeting. She does the hard work checking all the figures and sorting out what we need but I have to make the final decisions between competing claims. We're well funded but since Torchwood One imploded in a mess of its own creation the Treasury is less relaxed about just handing over wads of cash and we have to justify our expenses. Not that we tell them much, they get just enough information to justify the funding and no more. Finally I sent Suzie home around seven o'clock. I had a headache and she looked exhausted, par for the course when doing budgets. I was still in the office, eyes closed and head back when there was a knock on the door. Ianto stood looking at me from the doorway. I waved him in.

"What can I do for you?"

"I have some sacks of rubbish. Where do they go?" he asked impassively.

"I'll show you."

I pushed myself up from my chair and walked round the desk. The Hub was cleaner. All the old food containers were gone and the place looked … well, cared for again. It was like old times when Jeremy and Bridget had … No, better not to think about those times. Ianto led me to a stack of black rubbish sacks. There was a mini-mountain.

"Jeez, where did these all come from?" I asked, staring at them.

"It's YOUR rubbish."

"Right. Okay, we have a skip out back. The sacks go in the chute over there." I pointed to a closed hatch about fifty metres away down a side tunnel. I grabbed a couple of sacks and started heaving them over. "I'll do it, you stay here."

I didn't realise he'd ignored me until there was a grunt of pain and a thud. Dropping my sacks, I ran over to where he was curled up on the floor, rolling around in pain. Getting my hands under his armpits, I dragged him back and his moans lessened.

"You silly bugger!" I yelled, crouching down next to him, "I told you to stay put." I had a hand inside his sweatshirt and was reassured when I felt his heart's regular rhythm. Reluctantly removing my hand – his skin was very soft and the hair on his chest tickled – I looked at the bracelet which was still hot to the touch.

"You … you didn't … say why," he gasped out. He was on his back, breathing easier and obviously in less pain.

"Well next time - ask. Don't move. There's no permanent damage but you need to take a moment."

It took me roughly ten minutes to shift the sacks and get them down the chute to the skip below. The dustbin men will get a surprise when they come by next, haven't had this much rubbish for months. By the time I'd finished Ianto was sitting up and rubbing at his wrist.

"It'll heal on its own," I said, having taken a look at it. There was minor burn on the skin but not enough to need treatment, it would get better quicker by leaving it alone.

He was looking at me and for the first time I did not see any hostility or hatred. Just a stare as if he was trying to sum me up. "Guess this proves you weren't lying." He took my outstretched hand and got to his feet.

"I never lie, no point." I looked him up and down. "This place may be cleaner but you're not."

He looked down and took in the various stains and marks on his clothes and rubbed a grubby hand over his stubbly face. "Any chance of a shower?"

"Sure. I'll join you." He looked at me, a measuring look, and I did wonder if I'd get my long delayed shag. If he did the seduction thing tonight, I was not going to pass it up.

The water was hot and it felt good to wash off the sweat of the day. No offer from Ianto - yet. He was in the next cubicle and I could hear the water running. As is my wont, I was singing. Love to sing in the shower and I try out all sorts of tunes that have stuck with me over the many, many years of my enforced stay on this little planet. It was _Delilah_ tonight, that's a great one for belting out over the noise of the water. I was on the second or maybe third chorus before I heard Ianto singing along too. We carried on, repeating the bits we knew, as we soaped ourselves down and when we emerged – pink and steaming – we grinned at one another. I think I made a connection with him which I was surprisingly pleased about.

"Not bad," he commented. I think he meant my singing but as he was seeing me in all my glory for the first time maybe he was referring to something else.

"Not so bad yourself."

My luck was not in that night. He grabbed a towel and started drying himself off without a hint of seduction forcing me to do the same. I got dressed in an old pair of trousers and T-shirt that I keep here for evenings when no one else is around. Ianto had put the holdall I'd brought him in here and delved into it and pulled out clean jeans and a polo shirt – very tasty. The rest of the evening was spent watching an old DVD that had been lying around forever and eating pizza. Had another of his gorgeous mugs of coffee – God, it's to die for – and chatted about this and that. He volunteered that he'd paid his way through university working in a coffee shop and I for one was very glad he had. At half eleven I took him back to the cells and let him settle in before locking the door on him.

Back at my desk, I wondered what Ianto's long term future was going to be. We would probably let him go in time if he showed he could be trusted not to talk. But I still didn't like the idea of him wandering round with knowledge of us, just a gut feeling that it was better to sew up all the loose ends. The trouble was – how? I'd give it a while longer and then tackle Owen again. When Ianto's mental state stabilised surely we could Retcon him? Got some paperwork done over the next few hours, not that any case folder was complete. I stuck some notes on them and stacked them in three piles, one each for Suzie, Toshiko and Owen: the latter was the tallest. These were going back until we got all the 'i's dotted and the 't's crossed. I had a great feeling of satisfaction when I dumped the folders back on their desks. They were so going to hate me in the morning. Did a quick check on the inmates but all was quiet. Ianto had a cell block to himself again and he looked really peaceful curled up in the shelf-bed snoring.

Deciding that a breath of air was needed, I headed out and up. I love roofs. It's the feeling of looking down on the little people still wandering about Cardiff's streets in the early hours of the morning that I liked. These were my people. I didn't want to care for them, tried very hard not to, but after a century I couldn't help myself. But not for much longer. Soon, soon The Doctor would show up again to refuel and that would be my moment. All my many hours spent imagining the reunion had left me ready to act. Especially as I have the hand, his hand. A gaggle of girls tottered along below me, heading home, but I was remembering the people stuck on ledges just like this one and TV pictures of the Sycorax ship. My drive up the M4 was the fastest I have ever managed – so far – but I still missed him. The ship blew up courtesy of Yvonne Hartman but I found the hand before her minions even knew to look for it. It had looked really odd on the TV aerial on the roof of the house in Peckham but I managed to retrieve it before the boys in blue turned up.

Back in the Hub, I stood looking at the hand. It was gurgling away nicely in its jar and it sure seemed to be getting more active. Not long now, not long and I'll be able to confront its owner. Find out why he left me to rot in the Dalek dust and then I'll let him fix me, get me back to normal, 'cos I really do not want to live forever. I've had to leave too many people behind me on my way to this point in my life, lost too many people I've loved to want to go through it any longer than I have to. I want an escape clause, same as everyone else. And The Doctor was going to give me one, whether he wanted to or not: he owed me big time.

* * *

_Next time, Ianto loses his temper ..._


	7. Chapter 7

_Ianto loses his cool ..._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seven

It was Saturday morning and Toshiko was taking the day off, seeing her family I think. She'd probably told me but I'm not good at remembering non-essentials. My attention was on the UNIT conference coming up the following week. I hate them! Didn't have to attend before but since I'm all that's left of Torchwood – well, me and Archie but not even UNIT would have anything to do with him – I have to go. It was a three day affair but they knew I wouldn't stay that long and scheduled the only bits I was interested in for the first day. In and out, that's how I like it. In more ways than one, I thought with a smile: I have still not had that shag!

Suzie brought breakfast in with her and I was munching my second muffin when she came in with a slim folder and sat down. I eyed the folder, I did not like look of it, and then looked at her face. She really is attractive and those old fashioned glasses suit her. "Can I help?" I asked, eying the folder again.

"I've let Ianto out, he's making coffee," she said. Great news. I couldn't help looking towards the kitchen and there he was, the coffee maestro at work. "I wanted to talk about the Glove."

"What about it?" It had been washed up in the docks a week or so before with the knife and Suzie had taken the job of checking it out. Rather her than me, I don't have the patience for detailed examination. I'm more of a big picture man and let Suzie and Tosh do the little stuff.

"It brings things back to life."

"It what!?"

"You heard me." She looked up when Ianto hovered in the doorway with two mugs of coffee. "Thanks, Ianto," she said smiling, holding out a hand and taking her coffee.

He moved into the room, still in the polo shirt and jeans and looking good. His beard was growing in giving him a nice, shaggy look. "Your coffee," he said to me, putting it on the desk. "I'll be in the archives," he managed to get a note of disdain in his voice as he said this, "if you want me."

"Okay, thanks." I waved the mug of coffee to show that this was what I was thanking him for. He went off and I watched him until he descended the steps to the lower level. Turning back to Suzie, I saw the small smile on her lips. "What?" I demanded.

"Still not shagged him then?"

"No. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out." We grinned and got back to work.

Bottom line was that the Glove resurrected dead things. I have no idea what made Suzie even consider that it would do this, her mind is a mystery to me, but she had been running experiments and bringing dead dogs, cats and mice to life but only for a couple of minutes. Weird. Why would anyone want to bring things back to life? Suzie, of course, had thoughts on this and she had put them in a memo which was in that folder on her lap. I promised to read it and get back to her as soon as I could. She seemed happy enough and toddled off, having a quick word with Owen who had come in while we were talking.

"You okay, Owen?" I asked, going out to the work area for the last breakfast pastry. He was sitting at his desk and, wonder of wonders, was actually looking at the incomplete case files.

"Why shouldn't I be?" he countered, turning to glare at me.

I put my hands up in mock-surrender. "Just asking, you did bash your head yesterday." I guessed from his touchiness that he was feeling fine. I swear to God that if he wasn't such a great doctor I'd get rid of him. The gauze pad was still in place and stood out in stark contrast to his tanned skin. I had been going to offer to change it for him but not now. I took the pastry and retreated to the office and the UNIT papers.

The Rift alert an hour or so later had us scrabbling around. Suzie located the disturbance and from the size of it, we knew all three of us would be needed. Not usually a problem but I couldn't leave Ianto wandering around unsupervised. Yelling at Owen to get the equipment boxes into the SUV I ran to the registry where I found Ianto. The room had been transformed from utter chaos to organised chaos but I did not have time to examine it further.

"We have to go out. I'm locking you in." I chucked him the bottle of water I had grabbed from the store as I ran past and shut the door on him. The bolts were heavy and I rammed them home: that would keep him out of trouble.

We left the Hub minutes later and were on our way to Caerphilly. The Rift had opened above the ruined castle – it seems to be drawn to such places – and as that's right by the shopping centre I expected trouble. We got it. Whatever had come through had knocked out the staff and tourists in the Castle and even the fishermen using the moat had been affected. The police were trying to keep the bystanders at bay and investigate, doing a bad job of both. What a shower they were! Give a man – or woman - a blue uniform and they lose what little sense they were born with. Suzie tackled the police while Owen and I tackled the alien. We found it cowering at the base of one of the towers and managed to coax it out eventually. Strange how all aliens like chocolate.

With it – I don't know what its species is yet, just that it's purple and smelly – secured in the back of the SUV I had to go toe to toe with the police's head honcho. He was a silly little officious man who thought he could lay down the law to us. Hah! I soon told him a few home truths and had him running for the hills. Oh, I do love a good argument. Suzie drove us back to Cardiff and we rolled in about two thirty, tired and hungry. Owen took the alien down to the cells while Suzie ordered lunch and I went to release Ianto.

"Hey," I said as the heavy door swung back on its hinges. He was sitting at the desk which had been cleared, stacks of files around him. He did not look up, just kept on reading the papers in front of him and moving them to different piles. I took a step or two into the room feeling the tension. "You okay?"

"Oh hunky-dory," he said but I don't think he meant it. Something about the sneer in his voice gave it away, and the fact he did not look up.

"What's your problem?"

He turned to look at me then. "Other than being locked up in this hellhole for hours?" He gestured round the place and sneered again. He's good at that and he still looks gorgeous. "I needed the bathroom."

I shrugged. Nothing I could do about it, he had had to be secured and I hadn't had time for anything else. "Lunch will be here soon." I turned and left him to follow or not, he could do what he wanted. What he did surprised me.

I had taken just one pace and he was on me, grabbing me from behind and getting his arm round my neck in a choke hold. That was the surprise. Took me a moment but I recovered and jabbed an elbow into his stomach and heard him gasp in pain. The pressure of the choke hold lessened and I could breathe more freely. I managed to twist round while he was distracted but I was not fast enough to overpower him. He landed a right to my chin and I fell back – he packs a punch and I could feel the blood flowing from my nose and lip – and followed it up with a left to my middle bending me over. Grabbing him round the waist, I forced him back against the wall and ignoring the punches to my head and shoulders I landed a couple of good ones to his kidneys. That stopped him and I felt the fight go out of him. I left him to fall to the floor, standing well back and breathing hard. He toppled to one side and lay gasping for breath.

"What's going on?" demanded Owen running into the room. He must have heard the noise on his way back from the cells. "Is he all right?"

I watched in amazement as Owen ignored me – blood on my face, bruised ribs and all – and went straight to the boy. "Oy! He attacked me you know."

Owen did look my way, ran his eyes over me from top to bottom, then went back to the boy. "You'll live."

"Thanks for your concern."

I'd had enough and turned on my heel and left them to it. The boy wasn't seriously hurt, he'd survive. At the door I said, over my shoulder, "Put him back in the cells." Luckily Suzie was more concerned and mopped up the blood on my face before I went down to my quarters and changed my bloody shirt. When I came back up the pizzas had arrived and I tucked in, really hungry.

"Owen, how's Ianto?" asked Suzie, sitting at Toshiko's desk. She was also eating. Likes her food, does Suzie, though she still manages to keep her figure.

"Cuts and bruises." This came out around a mouthful of his usual meat feast. "What did you do to start him off?" he demanded of me.

"Nothing! I told you, he jumped me from behind." It really was about time my team, yeah, MY team took my side occasionally.

"He did. I checked the CCTV," put in Suzie. "It wasn't a great idea to lock him in there, Jack. You could have got him to the cells at least."

I looked from one to the other of them in amazement. What special power did this boy have to get everyone on his side? Toshiko was already won over and now these two. "There wasn't time," I said in the end, deciding not to argue the point.

We finished lunch in silence. I went back to the office, missing the shot of caffeine I'd been looking forward to and having to make do with water. I knew Suzie had been down with a pizza for the boy but neither she nor Owen queried my order to leave him in the cells. I went back to the UNIT stuff and got my head round it – finally. I turned to Suzie's folder on the Glove and saw she wanted to start trying it on people. Not a good idea, not yet. We barely knew what the thing could do and she was trying to jump to the next stage, just like her. Stuck a note on the file and told her to carry on testing it on animals for the time being. I carried on with the files and papers on my desk and felt virtuous when I was able to complete the lot. Stuck some back on the others' desks and took the rest down to the registry. Owen was in the cells with the alien from the morning and Suzie had gone out and would probably not come back, it was getting late.

Had a quick chat with Owen about the alien. It was shaking and looking sick which did not surprise me. Travelling through the Rift and ending up in a strange place affects most beings this way. It was my theory that this was why the ones we found were so aggressive, plain fear on their part. Left Owen to do what he could for the smelly creature and went into the next block of cells. Ianto lay on the shelf bed with one arm over his eyes. I stood and watched him. Eventually he spoke.

"What do you want?"

"An explanation. Why did you jump me?"

"Oh let me think." The sarcasm dripped from his voice. "You killed my girlfriend, you locked me up, you nearly electrocuted me, you made me work for you and then you stuffed me in a room and bolted the door." He glared at me and the old hatred was back again.

"So you're pissed. Get over it."

"Go away and leave me alone."

"My pleasure. Holler if you need anything."

Ianto Jones, one messed up young man, I thought as I walked back to the main level. Suzie phoned in and, as I had expected, told me she was on her way home. No problem, she put in plenty of hours. Leaving Owen in charge, I took off myself and walked and walked. Found myself on the barrage with a bag of chips looking back over the Bay. It was beautiful and I was pleased the authorities had finally seen the potential of the place. Thinking back over the years I remembered the docks and warehouses, the back to back terraced houses, the cobbled streets, the underfed children, the weary women, the beefy dock workers and the pall of coal dust that hung over everything. Then there were the sailors, on shore for the first time in months, bringing some colour to the place. A hotchpotch of nationalities had lived here and the fights when the pubs closed were momentous. Life as she is lived as someone once said, don't know who, and glorious in its way. Now the Bay was bright and gleaming, lights shining out from hotels, restaurants and the Millennium Centre. And the people here now were as young and vibrant as their surroundings.

Some days I feel very much out of my time, I fitted the old Bay much better.

It was close on midnight when I made it back to the Hub. Owen was at his desk and looked up when I passed him the coffee I had brought back with me. "Fancy a shot in that?" I asked, continuing to the office.

"Yeah." He followed me in and I poured some whisky in the paper cup. "Cheers, mate. You all right?"

"Oh now he asks." I sat down and put my feet up on the desk, sipping my coffee. The heat of the alcohol hit the back of my throat and warmed me as it went down. He shrugged and sipped his own drink. We sat in silence for some time.

"The alien died. Shock, I think, but I'll do a PM tomorrow."

"Okay. The boy?"

"Asleep. I talked to him, while you were out." He paused and I could feel his eyes on me, assessing my reaction. "He's still grieving for his girlfriend, that's why he lashed out."

"I figured that much."

"And his PTSD has never been treated," he continued. "He keeps going over and over Canary Wharf in his head. He needs to talk about it, to be exposed to his feelings not bottle them up. You'd be best for that."

I looked across at him then. "Me!? I'm the one that killed his girlfriend."

"And the one who understands most about what happened at Torchwood Tower. He mentioned this Doctor. I take it it's the same one you go on about."

I said nothing, not at all sure I wanted to get involved in therapy for a damaged young man who hated me and who had more than once said he wanted to kill me. If we couldn't Retcon him maybe he'd be better off dead.

* * *

_Oh no, what will happen now?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eight

Sunday morning started with a bang. Weevils were rampaging in Canton and Owen and I went out and dealt with them. There were four of them and we scared them away from the car park and back down into the sewers. We finished around five o'clock, bedraggled from the rain. It sure does rain in Wales. In a hundred or more years I've not known three consecutive dry days. Owen went home to grab some clean clothes – he'd slept at the Hub - while I headed back to base. The others would be in soon and I could cope for a few hours. Feeling grubby I went towards the showers but halted then doubled back and checked the CCTV of the cells before making my way down there.

The boy was awake, sitting with his head in his hands. He looked at me then looked away. Whatever fight had been in him yesterday was gone now, he was dejected and I thought he'd been crying. Owen had said this was normal, rage and depression intermingled.

"Want to wash and change?" I asked.

He waited and just as I was on the point of leaving – I do not hang around, got better things to do – he spoke. "Yes, please."

I released the door and stood to one side. I made him go in front of me, watching my back a bit more carefully this time. He walked off, knowing the way, and stripped off and got into the shower without hesitation or embarrassment. I followed suit and was soon soaping myself down singing _The Yellow Rose of Texas_ but he didn't join in. When I got out of the hot, restorative water he was already in his underpants, looking through the bag I'd packed for him. He put on a fresh pair of jeans – nice snug ones – and a T-shirt. I was shaving by now and he sat on one of the benches and watched. Not sure whether he was hoping I'd cut my throat or not. Perhaps he just wanted to have a shave himself.

"There's an electric razor in the cupboard." I nodded towards the one to the side. "If you want it." It was Owen's but I didn't think he'd mind.

I went on shaving but watched him in the mirror. I had made a bet with myself, I often do that to decide what action to take. This time if Ianto shaved I would give him another chance. If not … Well, I didn't have to go down that route, he was at the cupboard already. So Ianto Jones got another chance. It was quiet in the Hub, a good opportunity for a chat and to address some of those issues Owen had touched on last night. According to him, Ianto needed to talk about his experiences at Canary Wharf and to put his role into perspective, to understand that he was not to blame. Giving the boy some structure and routine would help too, apparently. What I'd done in getting him working was all right but not good enough. Is it ever? Seems there's always someone around who knows better than me, or thinks they do.

Putting my shaving kit away, I put on my T-shirt. "Owen tells me you two had a chat yesterday. He seems to think we should too." I reached for one of my favourite light blue shirts and put it on.

The buzz of the electric razor stopped and Ianto stared into the mirror. "So he said."

"Then let's do it."

Up in the work area I was pleased when he offered to make coffee. The one from the shop the night before had been okay, would have been good even, but now I'd tasted this boy's brew there was no comparison. I accepted, of course, and stepped over to Toshiko's desk and checked the Rift predictor and the other alerts. Nothing likely in the next hour or two. I carried on to the office and sat down. I had no idea what I was going to say, how I was supposed to help Ianto address his hang-ups. His diary had been strangely silent on the whole Canary Wharf debacle, just stopped for three days, no entries at all. And after that it had all been about healing Lisa. Maybe the trauma was just too great to write it down.

"Your coffee," he said, coming into the room and standing before the desk.

"Sit down." I took the mug and smelt the rich aroma, closing my eyes in ecstasy. God this stuff was good. I heard the chair creak, opened my eyes again and sipped the drink. He looked younger without the stubble and the uncertainty was evident from his body language. "Where do you want to start?"

"I don't. It was the doctor said I should."

"You know why?"

"The battle." He gripped his mug hard enough for the knuckles to show white through his skin.

"Tell me about it." He shook his head, eyes trained on his hands and the mug they held so tightly. "Okay, I'll tell you about it." I sat back in my chair and put my feet on the desk looking up at a point where the wall and the ceiling met. "It was a normal day. You were at your desk, just like usual. Checked the latest on the ghosts, read a few silly e-mails from your mates and talked about the previous night's TV. How am I doing so far?"

"They talked, I listened." His voice was strained and he still wasn't looking up.

"Got to the middle of the morning and the rumours started to fly. The Doctor, public enemy number one, had been caught, was on the top floor with the bigwigs. Then other rumours filtered down, of the ghosts becoming real, of them being in the building, of people disappearing. Finally all hell broke lose. Alarms, fighting in the corridors, explosions, people being rounded up and taken to the higher floors and never coming back. More and more of the metal men appearing. And you were frightened, frightened out of your wits and you didn't know what to do for the best. You were overlooked and found a corner and stayed there, curled into a ball and hid yourself away."

"Yes." I looked over and he was shaking, the coffee in his mug spilling over the sides and dripping down his hands. "I was a coward."

I got up slowly and walked round to his side of the desk taking my chair with me and sat beside him, knee to knee or as close as I could get. He didn't notice, he was back there, reliving the events of Canary Wharf. "You were trying to survive and there is nothing wrong with surviving. That's our first instinct, the most basic and the strongest." Resting one hand on his shoulder, I eased the mug from his hands.

"I should have helped, I could have helped. I could have saved them all, saved Lisa."

"How? Tell me, what would you have done? Taken on the whole Cyber Army and the Daleks? I don't think so." I was rubbing a hand on his back now, feeling his shaking body as tremors ran through him. "You were one man against hundreds much stronger than you."

"It was my fault," he wailed, rocking backwards and forwards, his fists clenched and eyes tightly shut. He had it bad, no doubt about it, Owen had been right.

"Was it? Did you open the portal and let the Cybermen through? No, you were a lowly archivist working in the bowels of Torchwood Tower expecting a routine day and who had done nothing to deserve what erupted around you. You weren't trained to fight aliens, I doubt you'd even seen one up close before."

"Yes … I had … in the holding cells." He spoke in gasps between sobs, tears running down his cheeks.

I ran a hand over his hair and impulsively held his shaking body against me. Owen had said not to push too hard, just to get him to talk and to get across as best I could that he, Ianto, had not been responsible. I thought maybe I'd done enough for now, no point in upsetting the boy any more. We sat like that for quite a while until his sobbing eased and his breathing calmed.

"I tried," he said softly, "I tried to get to Lisa. She was on … on the tenth floor and I was sub-ground. But they … they were on the stairs … I couldn't get past them." He kept his face buried in my shoulder.

"I suppose the lifts were out," I said conversationally, thinking it might prompt him to say more as he seemed to want to talk. "They usually shut down in an emergency."

"Don't know. I hid in a bathroom, stayed there for ages. When it had been quiet for a long time I tried again and I got to the higher floors." His voice was stronger with less hesitation. "The Cybermen were going to the top floors, I don't know why. Do you know why?"

"They were trying to get to The Doctor. He was getting ready to defeat them, send them back into the void."

"He's not an enemy then?"

"No, no he's one of the good guys." At least some of the time, I thought. When he's not leaving his companions stranded alone on wrecked and empty spacestations hundreds of years in the future. When he's not letting others, like Rose, die. "You found Lisa." I prompted again.

Ianto shuddered and clutched at me. "She was in a machine that had stopped. There were others but she was alive. I got her out, got her away. I hadn't done anything to help the others so I had to save her."

He lapsed into silence and this time I didn't encourage him to continue, he'd said enough for now. I held him tighter and let him decide when he wanted to move. Surprisingly it was ten minutes before he pushed himself away from me and sat up. Still not looking at me, he rubbed at his eyes. I patted his back and stood up, pushing my chair back round the desk. Some silence seemed called for, to put some distance between his memories and the present. I felt sympathy for him, of course I did, I'm not a monster, but there was only so much I was prepared to do, only so much I could do. I would help him provided it did not distract us from our real work.

"Was she really that dangerous?" he asked. His voice was steadier but husky from crying. It was so damned sexy.

"Who?"

"Lisa."

"Yes she was. Everything I told you the other day was true." I leant forward, forearms on the desk. "No one here blames you for what you did or did not do at Canary Wharf. You were one of us, Torchwood, and we want to help if we can. So here's the deal. No more trying to kill me, or anyone else. Work with us and once we trust you, we'll let you go. You can do what you want then, no questions asked as long as you keep quiet about us."

His deep blue eyes were locked on mine. "I won't tell anyone, you can let me go now."

"No, sorry. I have to ensure our security and I don't trust you – not yet." I had warmed to the guy but let walk him round Cardiff having seen what he'd seen? I think not. "You have to earn it."

"How?"

"Do what you've been doing. We need someone here to see to the records, clean up after us, make coffee." I sat back in my chair, thinking of all those tasks that were essential and just didn't get done. "We have a fake Tourist Office upstairs that's a disgrace and lousy cover. And down here our supplies are never unpacked and equipment boxes are made up at the last minute. And the SUV could do with a clean."

"Sounds like you need a butler." There was hint of a smile on his lips.

"Exactly! That's just what I want. If you can do that, you'd be helping us and showing me that you're not a threat."

"So I work my butt off all day, at danger of electrocution at any time," he held up the wrist with the bracelet on it, "and sleep locked up in a cell never seeing daylight. Is that the deal?"

When put that way it didn't sound like an attractive proposition. "And I want to talk to you some more, like today, don't forget that." I was grinning at him. "Look, we can do something about the sleeping arrangements, there's plenty of room and camp beds lying around. And I could be persuaded to allow you an hour or two outside every day. But for now the bracelet stays on."

"It didn't stop me attacking you like you said it would." He looked at me steadily.

"I lied. But we can all defend ourselves so don't think of trying that again." I met his gaze and saw his slight nod. "So, is it a deal?"

"I don't seem to have a lot of choice. Okay."

"Good. Let's sort out somewhere for you to sleep while it's still quiet."

It didn't take long to drag out a camp bed from storage and set it up in a largish room on the same level as the registry. Rootling around we found bedding, a desk lamp, a clock and an old coat rack as well as a wonky chest of drawers that must have been here since Emily Holroyd's time. A couple of upended crates made tables for the lamp and clock. While he headed up to collect his clothes from the bathroom, I looked round. The room was okay, easily as comfortable as my quarters.

"Can I get some more of my clothes and a few other bits? And how do things get washed round here?" he asked when he got back. He had a cloth and broom with him and started wiping off surfaces and the insides of drawers before sweeping the floor. He was just the sort of guy I needed to get the Hub shipshape.

"If it's quiet and you're good I'll take you later today. Laundry is collected on Mondays. Come up when you've got everything sorted here, someone'll be in soon with breakfast." I made to leave.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "Why don't you cook here? It must cost a fortune keep bringing food in."

"No one to do it. If you're offering, I won't say no. Especially if your food is as good as your coffee." I grinned. If he only knew - I'd have settled for him being here just to make the drinks and look good.

"I'm not brilliant. But I could probably rustle up breakfast." It was the first time he'd offered to help out and I hoped it boded well for the future.

"All right. You start tomorrow."

I did leave the room this time and walked up to the main level thinking hard. I liked him and not just as a sexy young man who still turned me on. He had been messed up by Torchwood One – Yvonne Hartman had a lot to answer for – and needed a lot of help but underneath he was a young man looking to rebuild his life and I hoped we could help him.

God, I'm getting soft in my old age.

* * *

_Many thanks for the reviews. Hope you like where this story is going. Next time, Jack takes Ianto out of the Hub._


	9. Chapter 9

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Nine

And suddenly we were five.

Sitting round the Boardroom table eating breakfast – a mixture of pastries and bacon sarnies and wonderful coffee – with Ianto was still slightly odd. He was a prisoner and yet he wasn't. He was in that weird limbo between the two and if it felt strange to us Lord knows what it felt like to him. Hang on, I knew what it felt like. I'd been a prisoner often enough to know that feeling and there was the time, on Reigel Nine, when I'd escaped death by sleeping with my executioners. They were such a nice couple. I opened my mouth to tell the story but thought better of it. Wrong time, wrong place. The rest of the team were remarkably accepting of the situation. Owen had recommended the boy be given something to do so he could hardly complain, and Toshiko's soft heart had already been touched by the pretty boy. Suzie, more hard nosed than the others, was wary but even she was willing to go along with the new arrangements if it got the Hub cleaned up.

"Okay, kids, so what's on the cards for today?" I asked. We'd already discussed Ianto, better he hear and see exactly what is going on, and now we had to get the rest of the day organised.

"I've got that thing from yesterday to autopsy," said Owen, leaning back in his chair. He had a dribble of brown sauce on his chin that was fascinating me. I wondered if he'd wipe it away before it dripped onto his T-shirt. Hope not.

"Tosh and I are working on a couple of artefacts and there's the glove too." Suzie was pushing me about the glove, wretched thing. She really wanted a try it on humans and had even checked who was in morgue and selected a candidate.

"I told you, no experimenting on humans until we know more, especially about what powers the thing." I looked her straight in the eye and she finally nodded acceptance. It's great to have a strong person as deputy but she can be hard to rein in at times. I'll need to keep an eye on her. "Tosh, anything?"

"It looks like there'll be a Rift opening late this afternoon. If I'm reading it right, it'll only be a small one." She handed Owen a serviette and gestured to his chin – damn, I was so hoping the sauce would drip. "The translation program is coming on and I've got an idea for enhancing security."

Good old Tosh, she never stops working. While the rest of us are content to do one thing at a time, she's got three or four on the go. She's made a real difference in the three and a bit years she's been here, updating all the programs and the Rift predictor is all her own work with only a bit of input from me. Getting her from under UNIT's nose was the best day's work I've done for a long time.

"Right, well we've all got enough to get on with. Suzie, if you want to take off after lunch the rest of us can manage. I'll be out at the bloody UNIT conference tomorrow so you'll have to be here then."

She was nodding. "Got all the information you need for that?" she asked.

"Think so, if not I'll wing it. Ianto needs some more clothes so I'll take him out this morning, other than that he'll be in the archives and making some more of this great coffee." I grinned at him and he managed a small smile in response. We dispersed to the work area and Ianto and Toshiko cleared up.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans go awry and so did ours. St Stephen's church in Grangetown had some unexpected members of the congregation at morning Service – Weevils! Owen, Suzie and I went leaving Toshiko to coordinate. The church was modern, lots of plain glass and no atmosphere, more like a hall than a place of worship. Give me towering stone walls, gargoyles and serried ranks of wooden pews any day, that's a proper church. The vicar and his congregation – the human members – were barricaded in a small side room (lucky so few people attended in the morning or they'd never have all got in) so we had free access to the five Weevils which were milling around. Sedation and putting hoods over their heads worked well and eventually they were all rounded up. It was rather a lot to get into the SUV with the three of us, so Suzie volunteered to stay and calm the congregation and administer the Retcon while Owen and I took the Weevils away.

"You know what," I said as I drove away, "let's release them back into the sewers. There's no need to take them back to base."

"Fine by me, saves a lot of messing about - and paperwork." He grinned and I matched it; sometimes Owen and I think alike.

With Toshiko's help we located the best place for the release and we got there about ten minutes later. On the way Owen and I discussed whether the Weevils were territorial. If they were, it would be interesting to see what happened when we dumped this lot miles from home. Ever the scientist, Owen found three subcutaneous trackers in the glove compartment and, once parked, he injected them in three of the Weevils. We unloaded all five and removed the restraints and hoods leaving them near the manhole. It would be another fifteen minutes or so before they revived, so we made ourselves comfortable in the SUV a little distance away to watch the proceedings.

"I take it you talked to Ianto," remarked Owen, staring out at the wasteland and the distant heap of Weevils. "He seemed more positive."

"We talked, yeah, don't know if it helped." I reported on the chat I had had with the boy that morning and Owen seemed pleased.

"That's a good start, Jack. He's likely to be up and down for a bit yet, but if he can get stuck into the chores maybe he'll feel better about himself. I was going to ask, before we got caught up in this little lot," he gestured to the Weevils, "how you were going to manage a trip out of the base. It may look like he's accepted the situation but I wouldn't bet on it."

"The other bracelet."

"So you have to keep him close? That'll suit you."

"Gotta have some pleasures in life."

I hadn't used them that way in a while but they were effective. As we waited, I thought back to when I'd let The Doctor use them on Margaret Blaine, the Slitheen. That had taken guts, to go out and eat a meal with a being you were sentencing to death, a horrible death at that. She deserved it, no doubt about it, but still … I wouldn't have done it, a bullet through the brain would have been a quicker alternative. Not that it was needed, the TARDIS had her own way of doing things. I smiled as I remembered that egg with the weird little haircut and dropping it into the nursery. That had been one of the good times with Rose.

"Here we go," said Owen, sitting up straighter.

The Weevils were stirring and we watched as they roused and drunkenly staggered off. Three of them made it to the manhole and climbed down, the other two flopped around a bit, falling over repeatedly before they fell down the manhole. Owen and I laughed like drains and caught the action on our mobiles, this was better than anything we'd seen from the creatures in a long time.

"_Jack, how long are you going to be? Any chance you could pick up some lunch?"_ came over the comms. It was Suzie obviously back at the Hub before us.

"Sure. We were just on our way in with some great Weevil footage. Pizzas okay?"

"_Yeah. No need to get drinks."_ She cut the connection as my mouth salivated at the thought of some of Ianto's coffee. I bet she and Toshiko had had one already while we'd been out.

"That boy sure makes good coffee," murmured Owen obviously thinking along the same lines as me.

We stopped at Jubilee Pizza and got the usual. After a bit of debate, we decided on Hawaiian for Ianto and I added some coleslaw and garlic bread as well; it was Sunday lunch after all. The smell of warm pizza accompanied us into the Hub and we plonked the food on the coffee table. Owen sat on the sofa and tucked in while I went to hang up my greatcoat and check the messages on the desk. The others had congregated when I returned and I could smell the delicious aroma of coffee.

"Everyone at the church okay?" I asked Suzie, eating a piece of garlic bread.

"Yeah. I made them all sit in the pews with a nice cup of tea and they won't remember a thing. They'll put it down to the vicar's sermon." She grinned, her prankster self coming to the fore. She liked practical jokes and we had learnt to be careful around April the first.

"The trackers on the Weevils are working," said Toshiko. "They're in the sewers and seem at home there. No sign of conflict with any residents."

"Here," said Owen, throwing her his mobile, "run the video of them getting into the sewer!" Once linked up we all watched the five Weevils as they wandered about dazed and uncoordinated. Only Toshiko was concerned when the last two took headers down the manhole.

I looked over at Ianto who was standing on the other side of the sofa nibbling on his pizza. He was doing that thing with his nose again and looked really, really cute. The tight jeans and top looked good too, showing fine muscle definition. I was lost in my own little fantasy world when I realised he was looking at me, eyebrows raised. I suppose I was staring but, heck, he was worth staring at.

"How's it going in the archives?" I asked, unabashed, shoving pizza in my mouth.

"I've made a start. It'll take months to get it into any sort of order."

"It's taken years to get that bad," put in Toshiko. She was the one who suffered most from our lousy filing system. Many is the time I've found her up to her knees in files and artefacts trying to locate the one she needs. "I'd be surprised if it can be sorted in under a year. What we really need is for it to be computerised." She glared at me. We'd spoken about this often.

"It's a great idea, Tosh, and you know I agree, but no one's got time to do it." I wiped my hands on a serviette.

"It would be better to start now, while I'm organising the paper records," said Ianto, watching the interplay between us.

"I have a programme, it only needs a bit of tweaking." Toshiko's eyes shone and the thought of adding yet more information to our databases. "I could show you."

This was going a bit to fast for my liking. Ianto was our prisoner for now and I did not want him to have unrestricted access to our computers. In his state there was no telling what he might do. "Tosh, a word." I turned and walked into the office, her high heels clattering behind me. "Shut the door."

"What is it, Jack?"

"I don't want Ianto having access to the computer system just yet. It's a great idea to computerise the records but you're going have to enter the data yourself." I was perched on the edge of the desk and she was standing just inside the closed door. Through the glass wall I could see Ianto clearing up the pizza boxes and taking the empty mugs off to the kitchen.

"I thought we could trust him now."

"Not with secrets or the computer system! He's a troubled boy and we don't know how he'll react from one day to the next. It was only yesterday that he attacked me." A fact everyone else seemed to have forgotten. "We take it slow and easy."

She chewed her lip for a bit. "I could set up firewalls around the sensitive stuff, only allow limited access. It's quite simple to do." She was so enthusiastic I didn't want to disappoint her.

"Okay, set it up but I want to look it over before you tell Ianto about it. And check into his background a bit more, didn't he study computers at school? He could know a lot more than we think."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that."

"We need to be safe, Tosh. Talk to him, see if you can find out how good he is." I smiled and stood up, patting her arm. "Just be careful."

She went off to do her bit and I got on with some paperwork. Suzie went home and Owen finally did the autopsy on the purple creature. I saw Toshiko and Ianto chatting at her desk then he came in my direction.

"Excuse me, you did say we could go to my flat to get some more clothes." I wondered, as I looked at him, whether to take him or not. The rumpled look suited him.

"Yeah. I guess now would be okay, before the Rift opens on us again." I reached into a drawer and pulled out the twin to the bracelet he was wearing. "I'll be wearing this."

"Are you going to be electrocuted?" he asked with what I hoped was mock jollity.

"No. If you move more than ten feet from my side while I'm wearing this it will zap you." I clipped the second bracelet round my own wrist.

"You have dangerous jewellery." He raised one eyebrow again in that cute way of his and I grinned. He was going to be fun to have around.

"Everything about me is dangerous," I replied in my deep, sexy voice, moving to stand just inches away from him. He blushed again and looked even cuter, if that was possible. I adjusted the bracelet on his wrist letting my hand stroke his skin just a bit more than necessary. I got to feel his pulse which had certainly quickened – he was interested, I could tell. He pulled away before matters progressed any further which was probably as well.

We drove to his place in silence. He was drinking in the fresh air and daylight after four days and nights in the Hub and I don't blame him. Living there as I do, I know what it's like to get hemmed in by the brick and stone surrounding you. Big as the base is, it can get claustrophobic down there. At the flat, he found a large suitcase and began taking clothes out of drawers and wardrobes. I don't know how long he thinks he'll be with us but he took just about everything he owned including, I noticed with surprise, the three suits I'd seen earlier. I had a sudden desire to see him in one of them. When he was done with the clothes, I followed him to the bathroom for his shaving kit and fancy toiletries. I never use the stuff myself, no need with my built in advantages which give sensory overload to my partners, or so they tell me. After adding a selection of books and an i-Pod to the case, he went to the kitchen and emptied his fridge of food that had gone off and tied up the rubbish sack before taking packets of coffee from a larder. He had masses of the stuff, could have set up shop with his stash, but I was more than willing to carry it; I knew what marvels he could do with it.

We left the flat with the suitcase, a suit bag, a large carrier bag of coffee – it was just like he was moving into the Hub. Well, except for the rubbinsh sack which he dumped in the wheelie bin as we passed. With the bags in the back of the SUV, which smelt even worse after the Weevils that morning, it was back to the Hub.

That evening brought us another resident and I finally got my long overdue shag.

* * *

_Any idea who the new resident may be?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Ten

When we got back to the Hub we unloaded the SUV and took Ianto's gear in. He dumped the coffee supplies in the kitchen and I adjusted his bracelet and removed mine so he could leave my side. Bit of a downer that, I'd have liked an excuse to keep him close. He went off to put his gear away and I looked in on Owen who was elbow deep in alien guts and cursing like a trooper. I tiptoed away before he saw me and had a word with Toshiko instead.

"The Rift opening looks like a small one if it's anything at all. We'll know in an hour."

"Good."

"I've sent you a demo for the computerised archives," she continued. "And you were right to be wary, Ianto's got a better than basic understanding of computers. But I can still keep him out." I didn't doubt it, did I mention she was good?

"I'll look at it now."

I settled in my office, my own little space, and called up the details getting lost in her demo and the e-mails that had landed in my in-box. There were many times when I considered the 21st century backward but right now I would have loved it not to have invented e-mails, they are the bane of my life. Too many people wanting too much information - NOW. Just because I receive their requests immediately doesn't mean I'm going to reply as fast. Wading through these my nose twitched with the approaching aroma of coffee and I looked up and … wow.

"Coffee," said Ianto placing the mug on my desk. He seems to assume the blue and white striped one is mine, never was before but I'm not complaining. But I was not thinking about coffee mugs right then. I was staring at the bearer. "What? Have I got something on my face?" he asked, patting at his cheeks.

He knew, the cheeky bugger knew why I was staring. God he looked good in a suit. He was wearing a dark one with a little stripe over a white shirt and a grey and red striped tie. Nice. "Thanks," I managed, gesturing to the coffee and stared as he half-smiled before turning on his heel and walking off. I watched him all the way past Toshiko and down the steps before standing up to watch him cross the lower level to the archway. When he was gone I caught Toshiko grinning at me and I grinned back. Sitting down again, I remembered the coffee and sat sipping it and thinking of the suit – sex on legs, that boy. I switched over to the CCTV feed from the archives and watched him some more but he was only sitting at the desk sorting files. I'd have to arrange for him to do some lifting and carrying.

The Rift alert was a damp squib, an opening but nothing showing up as a result. We scanned the area – an industrial estate in Roath – for half an hour but couldn't see anything unusual. One for us, I thought, we'd caught a break at last. Owen emerged from the medical bay looking decidedly purple and smelling.

"That bleeding thing died of fright," he announced without looking at either Toshiko or me. He stomped to his desk and flung a file of papers and printouts down. "I'm off to clean up."

"Ah, Owen, don't you think you ought to clean up in there first?" I was gesturing to the medical bay where I could see purple gunge on the walls and floor as well as the autopsy table.

"Not my job anymore," he grinned. "That's what the teaboy's for!" He gloated and went off to the bathroom.

I was going to remonstrate with him but Ianto appeared – Owen had obviously contacted him. Have to give Ianto a comms unit sometime - and my attention was diverted to the besuited vision. He smiled slightly at Toshiko and me then stood looking into the medical bay, his hands on his hips, before taking off his jacket, tucking his tie into his shirt opening and rolling up his sleeves. The sight of his tight arse in the snug trousers was mesmerising. Then he was off to the kitchen coming back a moment later with a bucket and a mop.

"Jack, you can't let Owen get away with this," hissed Toshiko as Ianto disappeared into the medical bay. "He should clean up after himself."

"Umm," I murmured, having moved from her side to watch the man currently swabbing the floor with swift, efficient strokes of the mop. He bent and stretched and time had no meaning any more. I heard a 'Humph' of displeasure behind me but ignored her for the show. I was still standing there when Owen reappeared and joined me. He was clean and smelt a lot better.

"Jack, go get laid. Doctor's orders," he said giggling as he passed into the medical bay.

That woke me up and I went off to the office. What was the matter with me? I'd seen plenty of pretty boys before, HAD plenty of pretty boys before, so why was this one getting to me? Owen was right, I needed to get laid and fast. At my desk again, I noticed the folder of papers for the UNIT conference. Lots of nice, fit guards in those tight fitting UNIT uniforms tomorrow and one of them was going to scratch my itch. With that happy thought I went back to the paperwork and e-mails and cleared enough to give me a clear conscience about being out the following day.

Owen and Toshiko left around seven o'clock. I watched them go and wondered about them; two lonely, mixed up people who would be good for one another but they just couldn't see it. Shortly afterwards I spotted Ianto sitting on the sofa with a sandwich and a book. He was still in his shirtsleeves, his tie loose, and looked delectable. I was a bit peckish myself and so had an excuse to bother him. "That looks good," I remarked, nodding towards the half-eaten sandwich.

"There's another in the fridge if you want it."

He did not look up so I had no option but to trot off and get it myself. With it and a bottle of water in hand, I sat beside him on the sofa. He kept reading which was off-putting. My charisma was not affecting him or he was fighting it - must be the latter I decided, no one could ignore me for long. Had a happy thought then - he could have taken his food to his room but he'd chosen to stay here so he did want to stay close.

"What are you grinning about?" he asked.

"Just happy." And I was, surprisingly so. I'd finished my sandwich when there was a beep from Toshiko's desk. It was not the Rift alarm and I got up to investigate, aware of Ianto following me.

"It's the Rift activity locator," he said, making to pick it up.

"Hold it," I warned, I did not want him touching anything I'd not checked out beforehand. The small beeping device was what he said and I recognised it as one of those we'd liberated from Ianto's flat. It was picking up activity in Roath – the Rift opening of a few hours ago. What was going on? CCTV didn't show anything so I was going to have to go and check. "I'm going out, stay put. Remember, too close to the exits and ZAP!"

"Let me come with you." I looked at him as I ran to the office – I was lucky I didn't collide with the office wall. "You may need help." He was putting on his suit jacket.

As I got the Webley and shrugged into my greatcoat I thought about it and decided, why not? I could handle him and anyway I'd rather have him in sight than alone in the Hub. I grabbed the other bracelet and put it on. "You can come but keep close." I made sure he saw the bracelet and adjusted his, looking forward to having him near. With the locator in hand, I led the way out.

I let him have the locator as we drove to Roath through quiet, dark and wet streets. It was raining again – what can I say, it's Wales. He seemed to handle the locator competently. He must have been scavenging the ruins of Torchwood One at the same time Suzie and Owen were there. I'd been too busy trying to sort out the fallout with UNIT and the PM to go myself. Plus I was too pissed off at having missed The Doctor to want to hang around the Tower. Ianto directed me to an empty warehouse, now there's a surprise. I must see the inside of more empty warehouses than all the commercial estate agents in Wales put together! I pulled up right outside a little door and we took a peek inside and saw – a pterodactyl! Now that's something you don't get to say every day. It dove at us so we nipped back outside pretty smartish.

"Right, THAT is the only special equipment you've got?" he asked as I got out the large syringe that made me feel like Dr Frankenstein.

"Yeah. 'Cos I keep dinosaur nuts in the back of the SUV!" What the heck did he expect? I placed my greatcoat in the vehicle, don't want to get that messed up.

"Torchwood London would have." Bully for them, that's all I can say. I ignored him and went back for a peek in the warehouse. He was sticking close, must say, and I was enjoying it. Standing inside the building, the creature spotted us and dove again.

"Nope." I said and we dived back outside. This was fun and I leant against the door panting slightly from the thrill of facing the creature and the pleasure of having Ianto close. "It's quite excitable," I commented.

"Must be the aftershave."

"Never use any."

"You smell like that naturally?" Aha, he had noticed!

"51st century pheromones. You people have no idea. Ready for another go?" I asked with a grin. If the boy meant it about not trying to kill me any more I think we could be friends – if you know what I mean.

"I'm game if you are." Oh, if only he meant that.

"Three, two, one." I opened the door and we went back inside. The damned creature saw us and started to approach. Taking the bracelet off my wrist, I held it up so he'd know he did not have to worry when I said, "Split up".

I slid left and he went right as the pterodactyl dove then came to a clattering halt between us and in front of the door. There was no getting out again until we had dealt with it. Circling round, I was pleased when Ianto did the same; guess he realised that his best chance of getting out of this one alive was with me.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh. We're not going to harm you. You can't stay here. Come back with me. I've got somewhere nice and big where you can fly around," I said, slowly creeping forward towards the creature. I had the syringe in my hand and was confident I could defeat it.

"You're going to let the pterodactyl into the Hub?"

"I need a guard dog." What was the boy's problem?

"So there'll be pterodactyl droppings to clear up too? Great! Your coat with take even more of a battering." The sarcasm fairly dripped from his voice and I did see his point. Don't want to be wandering about with pterodactyl poo all over me. Have to think about that one, but I had to catch the thing first. "What exactly is your plan?"

"I'm gonna be the decoy." That's me, the all action hero rushing into danger.

"And it won't rip you to shreds?" The sarcasm was even heavier this time.

"Dinosaurs? Had them for breakfast. Had to. Only source of food protein after the asteroid crashed." I admit I was showing off a bit but, damn it, he was undermining my heroic stance. "Long story. Here you go." I gave him the syringe. "One injection to the central nervous cortex. I'll keep it occupied. Move."

"No." Jeez, not only was he not impressed by my heroism he was disobeying me!

"What!?"

"I'd be a better decoy." He gave me back the syringe and I took it without thinking. It had been a long time since someone new had stood up to me like this and it was – interesting.

"Way too dangerous." I said this before I thought it out. The boy was a prisoner, what did it matter if he got hurt? I realised that it would matter – to me.

"No. I've got a secret weapon. Chocolate. Preferably dark."

From his inside jacket pocket he pulled out a large bar of chocolate, the stuff we keep in the SUV because, as I may have mentioned before, all aliens adore the stuff. I'd not seen him take it but admired his quick thinking. We split up; this was no time for talking, the pterodactyl was not going to be patient for much longer. He went right and I went left, creeping forward.

"Got your favourite," he said enticingly. "Yeah, it's good for you." He chucked the chocolate on the ground in front of the creature and it looked interested. So far so good. "It's good for your serotonin levels, if you've got serotonin levels." What the hell was he talking about!?

I didn't have long to puzzle over it as the damned thing noticed me and made a lunge in my direction. Before it could take off I leapt up and grabbed its leg, holding on tight with one hand and gripping the syringe in the other. "Whoa, Ianto!" I cried.

Boy, it was one hell of a ride, right up there with the winged horse on Helliaz Prime when … no, too long a story. Concentrate, I told myself. I was hanging from a pterodactyl's leg and he – nope she, I was close enough to know – was flying umpteen feet off the ground trying to shake me off. When I could, I got the syringe in place and stuck it into the big leg muscle and pushed the plunger in. That should do it. When I looked down I saw Ianto standing watching me. I was surprised he hadn't legged it but didn't have time for much more as I could feel the creature slowing. I let go of the leg and plummeted down to a remarkably soft landing on top of the boy.

"Sorry," I managed to gasp out as I lay on top of him. Then his arms were round me and he was rolling us over once and then again so he was on top of me. I realised why when the pterodactyl landed beside us right where we'd been lying. We both burst into relieved laughter and I held him tighter.

I know I shouldn't have done it but I couldn't help myself, his lips were too close. I kissed him and he kissed back. God, he tasted good. I pulled his head in closer and stuck my tongue in his mouth and he reciprocated. This was no reluctant boy being forced into anything, he wanted it too. I got my long overdue shag on the cold, concrete floor of an empty warehouse in Roath with a sedated pterodactyl lying not twenty feet away. Even though I had wanted Ianto for so long, I took time to get him ready and he sure seemed satisfied when he climaxed beneath me. I was satisfied too, he was good.

"We have to go," I said, sitting beside him, "the sedative won't last much longer." I nodded to the creature and he turned his head to look at it.

"Yeah." He didn't say anything as we got dressed but he seemed okay about the way things had ended up. Of course, he should be, I've never had any complaints.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, pulling him into a rough embrace.

"Yeah." He smiled briefly.

"Go get the straps from the SUV. We'll tie this one up and get her back to base while it's still dark." I had no fear he'd run, he'd had plenty of chances to do that and yet was still here. He turned and walked away towards the little door. "Like the suit by the way," I called to his retreating back.

* * *

_Well, most of you guessed the new resident would be Myfanwy so kudos to you. _


	11. Chapter 11

**_Myfanwy has to be taken to her new home ..._**

**

* * *

****Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eleven

Ianto didn't run away, like a good little prisoner he brought back the straps I wanted and we trussed up the pterodactyl. Hefting her between us, she was remarkably light, we got her to the SUV but could not get her into it without damaging her wings which would have negated the whole point of capturing her; I wanted her flying free around the upper reaches of the Hub and scaring off any intruders. Mind you, I had to make sure she knew that the team were friends – um, not sure how I'll do that yet. I realised that I had not thought this out very well.

"It'll have to go on the roof rack," said Ianto, standing at my side. He was studying the SUV and avoiding looking at me.

"She," I corrected.

"What?" He did look at me this time and I grinned inanely. God, I am acting like some besotted schoolboy. I'm like Toshiko is when Owen says anything nice to her! I wiped the grin from my face quickly, sobered by the comparison. What was happening to me?

"Our friend here," I said, lightly tapping the creature with the toe of my boot, "is a she." He raised those expressive eyebrows of his and continued to look at me steadily. "I got a close up look. Want me to show you?" I bent down to begin the anatomy lesson but he waved it away.

"I'll believe you. Roof rack?"

"Yep."

We got her up on the roof of the SUV and roped her down with a tarpaulin over the top. Her feet hung down over the back and her beak rested on the bonnet but on the passenger side. I drove back more carefully than normal, didn't want her sliding off and certainly didn't want to attract the attention of the local police. Now that would have been some explanation! Back at the Hub, Ianto and I manhandled her off the SUV and hefted her into the base. She was starting to stir and Ianto stood back, looking at her with some misgivings. I don't blame him but on the way back I had come up with a plan, a cunning plan. I modified a tracker with a bit of 51st century know-how and implanted it under the skin of her neck, finishing just before she really started to strain against the straps. I noticed I was on my own on the lower level and looked around. Ianto was standing in the archway to the medical bay. For a moment I wondered if he'd gone for a weapon before I realised he was sheltering in case the pterodactyl went for him. It was a good spot, the boy showed sound survival instincts which had obviously served him well at Canary Wharf.

I released the straps and stepped – okay, I ran – back to the cog door. I am not ashamed to admit that I was none too sure my plan would work. They usually do, just not always in the way I expect. The pterodactyl thrashed about a bit and lurched to her feet, staggering around for a while looking fairly comical and then she took off, soaring around the base and squawking. I watched her go, fascinated; she was magnificent. I was so lost in admiration I almost forgot she was a wild creature until she dove at me. Using the Vortex Manipulator, it no longer acted as a teleport but its other functions were fine, I activated the tracker and she sheered away from me. It worked. She tried a couple more times but realised she was not going to touch me only hurt herself.

"Can you control it?" asked Ianto. He had crept out to stand by Toshiko's desk, eyes trained on the circling pterodactyl.

"Her. Uh huh." She was coming in for another try, this time at the boy. "Stand still!" I commanded and he obeyed. He's brave, I'll say that for him. I let her approach and then I sent the pulse to the tracker that meant 'hands off' and she went in the other direction. After a few more tries at both of us, she gave up and went up into the very highest levels and perched. "She's got the message. We'll just have to do the same with the others when they come in and Bob's your uncle." I snapped the cover over the Manipulator.

"What about her droppings?" he asked, still watching the shadows where she had disappeared. "Are you going to be able to stop those too?"

"Give me time. I'll come up with something."

"And in the meantime I have to clear up after her." His voice was resigned. It was a bit much I suppose.

"I will come up with something, promise." I was standing close to him now so I reached out a hand and rested it on his shoulder. He started at the touch but didn't move away. "Any chance of a coffee?" He nodded and I let my hand drop as he walked off to the kitchen.

With a lingering glance at his back view, I sat down on the couch. The plates and bottles of water were still on the coffee table where we had left them; I was surprised he had not taken them with him. But it had been an eventful day, for me and for Ianto. From talking about Canary Wharf, to getting his possessions, to finding the pterodactyl, to shagging on the warehouse floor. Oh yeah, eventful. The blue and white striped mug appeared before me and I took it gratefully, pleased when he sat down next to me. We drank in silence which was curiously restful. After a minute or two, I laid my hand on his thigh and he didn't object. I left it there, sipping the gorgeous coffee – a hint of cinnamon this time – and relaxed after a busy couple of hours.

"Just because I let you … do what we did," he began, pointedly looking straight ahead, "doesn't mean anything."

"Okay." I wasn't sure where he was going with this but it seemed best to agree.

"I mean, I still want to get out of here."

"Sure." I paused then added, "But you did enjoy … what we did?"

There was longer pause. "Yes."

"And can we do it again some time?" I mentally crossed my fingers and toes. He had been a good shag and I wanted another. Soon as possible, actually. The heat from his thigh was burning through my hand and reaching sensitive parts.

"Yes." He turned his head and stared at me. He kept his eyes locked on mine while removing the coffee mug from my hand and leaning over for a kiss. This time we stayed on the sofa which was marginally more comfortable than the warehouse floor but not much.

"I see you followed my orders," were Owen's first words when I emerged from the office at seven the following morning. I'd slept well for once and was in a good mood.

"What are you talking about, Owen?" I spotted Ianto in the kitchen and smelt the heady aroma of frying bacon and eggs. He had promised to provide breakfast and I was looking forward to it.

"You got your shag." I looked over at him and saw his smirking face My eyes were drawn to the monitor on his desk and … me and Ianto on the sofa. "At it like rabbits and only the other day he was trying to kill you."

"Shut that thing off," I growled. Damn and damn, I'd forgotten to wipe the CCTV. It wasn't that I minded but I didn't think Ianto would be pleased. Owen and I scuffled trying to get to the keyboard, him to leave the pictures playing and me to stop them. It was stalemate until with a loud squawk the pterodactyl made her first appearance of the day.

"Bleeding hell!!" exclaimed Owen, using the keyboard to defend himself and in the process severing the CCTV feed. I must say that I did wonder, for a moment, whether to let her have him for breakfast. However, I didn't want the hassle of finding another doctor so activated the tracker. She veered away. "What the hell is that!?"

"A pterodactyl. Her name is Myfanwy." Ianto stood behind us, calm and elegant in his suit and with two plates of egg and bacon in his hands. "Breakfast."

"Great. I've got quite an appetite," I said grinning suggestively at him. He and I had come with the name for our new house guest the night before in some post-coital chat before we went to our separate beds.

"I noticed, sir." He put the plates down on the coffee table and went back to the kitchen, the perfect Jeeves but with added benefits. At least, I think they were an addition. I don't remember Bertie and Jeeves getting it together but I haven't read Wodehouse for a long time.

"Jack!" Owen was looking up at Myfanwy, in awe or terror or maybe a bit of both. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Breakfast." I was on the sofa with my knife and fork poised. "Eat up before it gets cold." Ianto was back with his own plate and sat at Toshiko's desk to eat it, he looked pretty perched there.

Owen finally joined me on the sofa and over breakfast I explained about finding Myfanwy and that she was going to be our guard dog. Of course, Ianto had to point out the problem of the droppings and that got Owen going about her being a health hazard. Honestly, can neither of them see the benefit of having her here? It's so obvious but I suppose 21st century people haven't learnt to think outside the box. With breakfast over and with a mug of wonderful coffee in hand, Owen and I went into the medical bay to see what we could devise to deal with the problem. I had to leave him to it when Suzie and Toshiko arrived as I was required to defend them from Myfanwy. They both ran for cover but were coaxed out when Myfanwy went back to her perch under the roof.

I left them being cosseted by Ianto with breakfast and coffee and went to the office. After deleting the CCTV of him and me – a pity because we looked damned good – I flicked through the papers for the UNIT conference one last time. This year it was being held at the SAS headquarters at Hereford so I didn't have far to go. Shoving the papers into a battered briefcase, I called in Suzie and we went over arrangements for the day. She had the complete team, plus Ianto, so should be able to cope with anything the Rift might throw her way. Nevertheless I made her promise to call me if she needed my backup.

"Honestly, Jack, stop worrying," she said as she prepared to leave. "We can cope and you only want me to call so you can get away from the conference early." She knows me way too well. "There's nothing going to happen. We'll have a boring day doing all the paperwork you keep making us do and fighting off the flying house pet."

"I hope so."

She left and I fiddled a little more until I could put off the evil deed no longer; I had to leave for the conference. I had been hoping for a major opening of the Rift but no such luck. Finally, at eight thirty, I put on my greatcoat and left, briefcase in hand. Of course, there is another reason why I don't like these Conferences – they take me away from Cardiff and I might miss The Doctor. I'd waited a hundred years already and I would be annoyed, very annoyed, if he turned up on the one day I was at some poxy UNIT talkfest.

Driving up the M4, I let the Mercedes have its head and fairly tore up the outside lane. I love power and this beauty was my favourite ride, after the SUV. Just gotta love the gadgets in the SUV. All too soon I had to turn off for Monmouth but it was dual carriageway and I could keep going close to seventy. Just past the town, it was down to two way traffic and I was reduced to trailing behind lorries, coaches and even caravans. I was drumming my fingers on the wheel in frustration so, to distract myself, I let my mind wander to the Second World War and David Stirling. I had worked with him and his commandoes in the fledgling SAS and been impressed even back then. Later, after his time, I'd helped in Malaya and more recently I'd been to Stirling Lines and then Credenhill for training sessions. It had been fun throwing some alien armaments at the troops and seeing how they reacted. I turned off just before Hereford and got on the A438 and in ten minutes I had arrived.

It took twenty minutes to get through security and that was the fast route! I don't mind being searched – he was a nice boy – but when they started on the Merc I was not pleased. Luckily they stopped before doing any damage or I would have had to do something about it. It was only when I was finally allowed into the base and had parked that I remembered I had not reset Ianto's bracelet after returning last night. Right now he would be able to get out of the base without being zapped. I froze in my seat as I pictured the base without him in it - it would be very lonely. I had my mobile in hand ready to call Suzie and make her lock him up for me when I stopped myself. I didn't want to force him to stay, I wanted him to stay because HE wanted to. Jeez, I was getting soppy about the boy. Resolutely putting the mobile away, I got out of the car and just hoped that Ianto would be in Cardiff when I got back.

I joined the Conference, forty one men and women nattering on about rubbish and trying to get me to agree with them. The only one I liked was Colonel Mace. Newly promoted he was not yet tainted by the others and I made a point of chatting to him at lunch – their coffee was rubbish – and getting to know him better. I'm sure some of the older hands thought I was chatting him up but I really was just trying to get him on side. Unfortunately, he's being posted to London but I shall keep an eye on this one. We rambled through more stuff during the afternoon and it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The one good thing about UNIT bods is that they admire The Doctor, are even in awe of him. This is so refreshing after years – decades! – of Torchwood's obsession with thinking of him as the enemy. There were a few tales told that made me warm to The Doctor, despite his disappearing act. The talking stopped at six in the evening and by then I had got what I wanted - continuing support for taking captured aliens off our hands and interchange of knowledge, lots from them not so much from us – and blocked others. Guided tours of the Hub, what would they think of next!?

Ducking out of dinner, I was away and driving back as soon as I could. No one had contacted me so I assumed the team had managed without me. Either that or they were so busy that they hadn't had time to call. A little shiver passed through me, remembering that New Year's Eve when the whole team had been eliminated and I had been left alone. It wasn't quite as bad as being on Satellite Five where I was literally the only person left alive, but it was close. That was not going to happen, I told myself, putting my foot down as I hit the dual carriageway. The team was going to be in the Hub, bored out of their minds with paperwork and ready to give me grief. I smiled then, anticipating seeing them all again.

I just hoped Ianto would be there too.

* * *

_Will Ianto be waiting for Jack? Find out next time ..._


	12. Chapter 12

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twelve

"I told you this would happen."

These were the words that greeted me as I strode through the cog door at just gone seven o'clock on Monday evening. I had had a good drive back to Cardiff and was looking forward to seeing everyone again and those accusatory words were flung at me. I stood, mystified at the disgruntled tone but grinning at the wonderful Welsh vowels. He was still here, Ianto had not run off. He was standing in front of me wearing yellow oilskins, galoshes and a sou'wester. That man would look gorgeous in anything.

"What's the problem?" I asked, taking another step into the Hub and standing at the foot of the steps leading up the work area.

He raised that eyebrow again – I am going to have to find out how he does that – and pointedly looked round the place. I followed his gaze and saw the Hub, same old place. Tidier than it had been just splashes of white paint in various places and Toshiko and Suzie seemed to be sitting in plastic tents but otherwise … White paint? Tents? Oilskins? I looked up.

"That's right, Jack," called Suzie. "The damned thing's pooping all over the place." She looked weird through the clear and green plastic, kind of distorted, but I could tell from her voice that she was not pleased.

"Didn't Owen finish what I showed him this morning?" I climbed the steps, noticing Owen's desk was shrouded in plastic but the man himself was absent. Looking further, I could see him in MY office. "What's he doing in there?" I complained.

"He bagged it before the rest of us could." I had never heard Toshiko so sarky before. She grumbled occasionally when I was reluctant to let her use alien technologies to 'benefit mankind' as she put it but she'd never been so downright nasty. Her tent was liberally coated in splashes of white … guano and smelt bad.

Carrying on to the office, I put my briefcase down and took off my coat; don't want to get that mucky. Ianto had followed me in and stood just inside the door, arms crossed and tapping his foot. He was not a happy bunny. "Owen, what are you doing in here? Why haven't you done the modification?" I'd given him the vomit-o-matic and told him what to do, should have been easy.

"For your information, Harkness, I'm keeping clean, that's what I'm doing in here. And the modification's done. Was done less than an hour after you left."

"Then it should be working. What did you do wrong? I don't have a limited supply of those, you know. They come from 200,000 not Tesco!"

Owen held up the vomit-o-matic and waggled it in front of me. "Just how was I supposed to fit it?"

"You could have - " Damn, I hadn't thought of that.

"Yes, Jack, what were you going to say?" Owen was sneering now, knowing he had caught me out. "You're the only one who can control the thing."

"Tranquiliser darts, did you think of those?"

"Of course! Bloody thing wouldn't let us get near enough to it."

"Her," Ianto and I chorused.

I grinned at him and was reminded of another way to attract her. "Chocolate, did you try chocolate?"

"What do you take us for, Harkness!? Teaboy here got it … her down with the chocolate but it … she wouldn't stay put long enough." Owen looked a bit shifty when he said this and this set my mind racing, what wasn't he telling me?

"He hit Toshiko instead," put in my handsome Welshman, explaining everything. No wonder she was sarky and Owen defensive.

"I thought I told you to keep quiet about that," said Owen, glaring at Ianto.

"And I thought I asked you not to call me 'teaboy'." He glared back.

Oh dear, my happy little team was falling apart at the seams. These two were carping at one another, Toshiko had been drugged and she and Suzie had had to sit encased in plastic all day. I was actually pleased to have been out with the boys and girls of UNIT. First things first, before I repaired team morale we had to stop the pterodactyl pooping.

"I'll get her down. Owen, get me a tranquiliser gun." I was in the work area when I said this and Toshiko let out a little squeak and hurtled past me into the office. She shoved Owen and Ianto out and shut the door. "Ianto, got some more chocolate?"

"Yes but this is spoiling her," he replied.

"If you want her to stop pooping, you've got to work with me here."

On the lower level of the Hub, Owen scurried over from the armoury with the tranquiliser gun and handed it to me before joining Suzie in her tent. Ianto stayed a step behind me as I used the Vortex Manipulator to call Myfanwy down. She swooped out of the shadows and circled a time or two then settled on the ground in front of us. Ianto threw the chocolate forward and she went for it. I took a pace to my left for a better angle and shot the dart into her shoulder. She squawked and flapped her wings a time or two then went down. I put a hand on Ianto's arm as he went to go to her.

"Give it a minute or two to take effect," I said softly.

Owen left the safety of the tent and went back to the office for the vomit-o-matic and a surgical kit. We were not going to move her to the medical bay, it would have to be inserted where she lay. Suzie came over and stood at a safe distance, looking down at the creature with a strange look in her eye. For some reason, I was reminded of the Glove and had the weird idea she wanted Myfanwy to die so she could try it out. Stupid thought. Owen came back and we approached Myfanwy warily but she was out for the count: poor dear, sedated twice in less than twenty four hours. With Ianto and Suzie's help, we turned her over and Owen made an incision and gently inserted the turbines into her anus – Myfanwy was really having a bad day. Ten minutes late it was all done and the laser scalpel was putting her back together again.

"What exactly will that thing do?" asked Suzie.

"From now on Myfanwy's … waste will come out in small frozen cubes," I replied. With my hands in my pockets no one could see I had my fingers crossed. It was designed to work on vomit, hence the name, and I was not one hundred per cent certain that it would work at the other end, so to speak.

"So we'll be brained by frozen shit," commented Owen, standing up. "Where's my hard hat?"

"They will be small frozen cubes, about the size and weight of a sugar cube." Right now it was me that felt like braining Owen. "And give me a bit of time and I'll train her to … deposit them in one place."

"How long do they stay frozen?" Ianto was standing beside me and had removed his sou'wester.

"Couple of hours. Plenty of time to be collected and disposed of," I assured him and the others.

"By me I suppose," he said and I swear he was grumbling. I'd let him out of the cells, given him a job and introduced him to the best sex he was ever going to get and he was still not satisfied.

"That's your job, teaboy." Owen smirked and walked off to the work area. Suzie looked at Ianto and then at me before shrugging and returning to her tent. Ianto sighed heavily.

"Look, Ianto," I began, taking his arm and pulling him back from Myfanwy who was starting to twitch, "all I really want you to do is whip the archives into shape, that's your primary role here. If you will also make coffee I will be eternally grateful. As for the rest of it, if you don't want to do the cleaning – fine."

He looked at me through narrowed eyes. "You mean that?"

"Yes." And I did. I wouldn't have asked anyone else to take on as many jobs as I'd already loaded on him and if he only did the two I wanted I would be more than content. Of course, I was also hoping that his need to be clean and tidy would mean he'd clean up anyway but I was hardly going to say so.

"I'll see how it goes. I can't go out so I may as well keep busy. Prefer to." The last was said under his breath but I heard it. It was a week tomorrow that I'd killed his girlfriend so it was hardly surprising he was not over it yet.

"Good man. Oh, here she goes." Myfanwy was struggling to her feet and tottered around before finally managing to lurch into the air. She went straight up to the roof again and we heard nothing more of her for a while.

"I'll clean this place up," said Ianto looking round.

"No leave that. Hey, kids, time we went to the pub," I called. "You too, Ianto. I'll get the other bracelet." I jogged off and the girls peered out of their tents and Owen from the medical bay, smiles on their faces. "Assuming there's no Rift activity predicted," I added and was immediately assured there wasn't; I chose to believe them.

We gathered by the cog door and I made a show of putting on the bracelet and 'adjusting' Ianto's. He hadn't realised he could have got away and I wanted it to stay that way. We set out for one of the café bars. The others seemed content to have Ianto accompany us and I managed a quiet word with Suzie as we were walking along.

"Ianto been okay?"

"No problem. He seems to have worked out a routine of his own."

"Which is?"

"Archives in the morning and cleaning in the afternoon. And fabulous coffee at regular intervals." She grinned. "He's a find, if you can keep him."

"No attacks on anyone?"

"No, it's only you he has a problem with, though from what Owen tells us he's not holding out on you any more." Big mouth Harper had struck again. I should have known he wouldn't keep his knowledge of my shag with Ianto to himself. I ignored the reference, about the only thing I could do.

"He and Ianto were exchanging insults. What's that about?"

"Clash of personalities. And I think they enjoy it."

We couldn't talk any more as we had arrived. In the bustle of sitting down, I managed to ensure Ianto was next to me and Owen was as far away as I could make it which wasn't far in a group of five. We ordered the drinks and some food and had a good couple of hours. Ianto stayed quiet mostly but he joined in a little. Toshiko loosened up and got giggly and I noticed Suzie putting the vodka tonics away easily matching Owen who could drink for England. We had eaten and were thinking of another round when Ianto leant close, his hand on my arm.

"I need to use the bathroom," he said quietly. I gave him an odd look. Was he really offering to shag me in the bathroom? It was okay by me but he didn't seem the type. Then he touched the bracelet on my wrist and I understood: he couldn't go that far away from me.

"Sure. Gotta pee," I said and stood up, Ianto joining me.

We did our business and were washing our hands when he asked, "How much longer is this likely to go on?"

"The drink?" He nodded. "Owen and Suzie are good for a good few hours yet. I expect Tosh will fall asleep soon, she usually does. Why?"

"Do we have to stay?"

I gave him a searching look as I used one of the blowy things that dry your hands. They make so much racket I was able to delay replying while I thought about what to say. If I got him back to the Hub I could be on the promise of another shag and that was much preferable to watching Toshiko slide under the table, Owen pick a fight and Suzie find someone to warm her bed.

"No, in fact they'd prefer me to leave them to it. We'll finish the drinks they'll have got in and then leave. Okay?"

"Okay."

He smiled and we went back to the table. The drinks were waiting for us and as I had predicted Toshiko was nodding off. She was sat awkwardly and her head fell forward then jerked upright when she was in danger of falling off the chair. Owen, of course, was making bets about when she would – he has no heart. Ianto downed his pint quite quickly and I wasn't far behind with my whisky. Fifteen minutes later we were getting ready to leave.

"We're going leave you to it," I said, pulling on my greatcoat. "Make sure Tosh gets home okay."

Ianto looked at her and then at me. "I think she should leave now." He bent and gently shook her shoulder. "Toshiko, wake up. Time to go home." She blinked her eyes a few times and straightened up. "Let's get your coat on." He helped her on with her coat and with a hand under her arm, and making sure I was closely following, he helped her down the stairs and out into the fresh air.

It was good to see him caring for Toshiko and I wondered, as I walked along behind them back towards the Plass, why the other two would rather make fun of her than look after her. I hadn't stopped them either, I'd joined in. Were we a team or just a collection of individuals who worked together? I feared it was the latter and that depressed me. I liked these people, had picked them out of the crowd and reeled them into Torchwood. I'm not sure I did them such a big favour. They had no normal life to speak of, no relationships or friends as far as I could see and even family was distant. Owen had issues with his mother and Suzie had never spoken of her family, dismissing them entirely from her life. Toshiko saw her grandfather and brother from time to time and, in the past year or so, I'd even allowed her to spend some time with her mother but it was not a close relationship. And the three of them wouldn't live long as members of Torchwood. I doubted that they, and maybe even Ianto, would be alive in five years time.

Of course, I was no better. A team needs a leader and I was not likely to be around much longer if I had my way. When The Doctor comes I was going to have to get answers from him and that means pinning him down which, knowing him as I do, probably means sticking to him while he rights a wrong on some insignificant planet in a forgotten corner of the galaxy. Would I come back when I was mortal again? I honestly don't know but I doubt it. This 'team' would be on their own. It surprised me to realise that I cared rather more than I wanted to, especially about these two in front of me. Suzie and Owen could look after themselves, they were tough, but Toshiko and Ianto had experienced enough tragedy in their short lives without being abandoned by me. But no matter how bad I felt about leaving, I would still go if it meant I had a chance of being normal again.

We'd reached the car park and I stepped over to Toshiko's side. "Are you okay to drive, Tosh?" I asked, looking into her eyes.

"I'm fine, Jack. The fresh air has woken me up." She turned to Ianto and smiled at him. "Thanks for making me leave, Ianto. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He opened the car door for her. "Drive safely."

"I shall. Goodnight, Jack." She started the engine and backed out. We watched her on her way and she certainly seemed all right, stayed on the road anyway which is more than I do at the best of times.

"Fancy a coffee?" asked Ianto as we made for the fake Tourist Office.

"I fancy more than that," I murmured, a hand creeping down his back to rest on his arse. I didn't get it.

* * *

_Hope you are still enjoying this story. Don't forget to review and let me know._


	13. Chapter 13

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirteen

Having left the team in the bar I had ensured that Ianto and I were alone in the Hub but my plans for a shag were not realised. With my bracelet off, he left my side and made coffee then, after some desultory discussion and with a look of disgust at the guano speckled place, he said goodnight and walked off to his room. I didn't press for an explanation or anything else. I had a feeling I'd done something wrong but had no idea what. Or maybe it was something else entirely. The boy was a complex mix of emotions and I was not going to fathom him out overnight - if ever.

Coffee in hand I went to the office and took a couple of hours to sort through the case files and other papers that had landed on my desk. The day had been quiet, so Suzie had got Owen and Tosh onto the paperwork which meant there was a lot to look through. Surprisingly, most of it was complete for once so I was able to sign it off. The e-mails were as numerous as ever but I weeded out the rubbish and answered one or two then went for a stroll round the Hub. It was still a mess from Myfanwy's first day in residence and I set about sorting it out.

Dismantling the tents, I spread the plastic out and ran a mop over it to clean it up before taking the mop to the splashes of guano over the walls, floor and railings. The physical activity was welcome after a day spent driving, sitting at the conference and then drinking and I've never minded getting stuck in. It didn't take long to clear up the worst and I was relieved to find three small frozen cubes of waste; the vomit-o-matic had worked. Spurred on by this success, I climbed up into the space under the roof where Myfanwy was roosting. She had found a ledge against the wall and started to create a nest of sorts. I perched up there with her, she seemed content for me to be close, and I tried to remember how the pterodactyls I'd come across before acted in the wild so that we could replicate the conditions for her. They ate meat or fish and studying the shape of her beak I thought Myfanwy would be okay with fish – we'd have to get a regular supply for her. Water she could get from the overflow pool below and she'd already found a suitable place for a nest. Have to get some straw or sticks or something to make it more comfortable for her. Clambering down I made a note about the fish and straw, tidied away the now dry plastic and went to bed for a couple of hours with only a wistful thought for the Welshman sleeping a few floors below.

At seven o'clock the next morning, washed and dressed, I was wondering where Ianto was; I'd been hoping he'd join me in the shower. The door to his room was ajar – I swear it was – and so I peeked in. He was sitting on the bed partly dressed but didn't see me so I took a pace back and knocked on the door. "Ianto?" I called as if I'd just arrived.

"Come in."

"Morning. I wondered if you were okay, you're usually up and about before this." I stood looking at him and realised he was down in the dumps again. Owen had warned me about the boy's likely mood swings but I was still surprised. He'd seemed okay yesterday.

"I'm fine," he said after a minute or two. It was clear he wasn't. He was staring at something in his hands. Taking the bull by the horns, I went over and sat on the bed next to him.

"Doesn't look like it."

"She was alive last week. Then I met you and you killed her." He looked up then and I could see he had been crying. "This is who you killed." He thrust a photograph of the two of them at me, one of those I'd seen on his fridge,.

I took the photograph, no way to avoid it, and put it on the bed beside me. "No, Ianto. I killed a Cyberman. THEY killed Lisa months before, at Canary Wharf."

"So you keep saying." He got up and ran a hand through his still unbrushed hair. He was in trousers and unbuttoned shirt and looked … gorgeous. Even in the middle of an emotional conversation I have eyes. "I should never have done it," he muttered.

"Done what?"

"Come looking for you. It was my idea to get in here, I thought you'd have the means to make her better." He laughed mirthlessly. "How wrong could I be?"

"No one and nothing could have made her 'better'," I pointed out. "She was never going to be the Lisa in this photo ever again. She was lost from the moment she was put in the conversion chamber."

"I should have got to her sooner!" he blurted out, smashing a fist into the wall. "It was my fault, all my fault."

I was on my feet now and pulled him away from the wall. If he kept hitting it like that he'd break his hand. He struggled against me but I kept a firm hold and managed to get him into a kind of hug. Not the kind I wanted but anything's better than nothing. "We talked about this. You couldn't fight the whole Cyber Army. You did exceptionally well to get her out as it was. I'm still not sure how you did, the emergency services were there pretty fast."

"They were busy. I dragged her to a lift and went down to the car park." He was talking quietly and with no emotion in his voice, resting against me. "I put her in my car. We were going away for a long weekend, that's why I had it. I managed to drive out in the confusion and parked it a few streets away. Hid her under a cover and went back. No one knew I'd been anywhere, thought I was just a confused survivor."

"That was quick thinking. You did what you thought was right and it's okay." I patted him on the back and released him. "Look, stay down here as long as you like. You don't have to work today if you don't want to." I don't think he heard me and he went on, in that same emotionless voice.

"And now I've betrayed her."

"How?"

"With you." He laughed that mirthless laugh again. "Of all people, it was you. Less than a week after you killed her I was … we were … " Tears were rolling down his face again. "How could I have let you?"

"Hey, you were willing." I suppose for 21st century humans it was considered inappropriate to move on to another lover so soon after a loss but in my time we had no such scruples.

"And that makes it so much worse." He sank back down on the bed and put his head in his hands. "Please leave."

I thought about going, even took a pace towards the door, then remembered that Owen considered the boy to be potentially suicidal. And, just my luck, this was the doctor's day off so I couldn't get him down to talk to the boy. It was all up to me – damn. I couldn't leave him down here to brood, I had to keep him busy and in sight.

"No. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. What's done is done and I need you on your feet and properly dressed – now!" I stood with arms crossed and waited for him to move.

He looked up at me, the old look of dislike if not actual hatred was back. "Why should I?"

"Because Lisa wouldn't want you to wallow in self-pity. She'd want you to get on with your life. And don't tell me you didn't enjoy our shag because I know better. Okay, the timing was … unfortunate but you wanted it as much as I did. Now get moving."

A little to my surprise he did. He levered himself off the bed and did up his shirt, tucked it in, put on a tie and then made the bed. With his suit jacket over his arm, he walked out of the room without another word. He'd forgotten to comb his hair but I didn't comment, just followed him out and up to the main level.

That morning was a long one and Ianto's mood affected us all. The Rift was quiet, luckily. It's like that, periods of manic activity then nothing for a couple of days. Went quiet for three weeks once, back in the twenties, and some idiot actually thought it had closed. They were in the middle of the celebration party when there were six openings in an hour. A lot of people died that night, me included. More than once. At least it was being quiet when I needed it to be 'cos I stuck close to Ianto. And not for the reasons that Suzie thought. After breakfast with her and Toshiko – just toast and coffee this morning – I let Ianto go down to the archives. Setting Suzie on sourcing fish and nesting materials for our new pet, I took the case files I'd cleared down to the archives. Ianto was in the Registry, sitting at the desk, reading and moving files around.

"Got some more for you," I said cheerfully, plonking them on the desk. "How's it going down here?"

"Okay."

"So, show me what you've set up so far."

He stared at me for a moment or two, obviously working out if I'd go away or not, and decided I was there for the duration. Standing, he went to the row of four drawer filing cabinets. "This cabinet will hold the index and cross-reference books, when they're complete. The case files, which will each have a unique number incorporating the year, will be held in the remainder - in order. The miscellaneous papers will be filed alphabetically by subject, usually the alien involved."

"Sounds great." I opened a drawer which I saw had been relabelled – neatly – as 1879 – 1885. The smell of old paper greeted me and I smiled on seeing those tattered old folders with their copperplate handwriting once more. The folders were neat and all up the same way so I could find the one I wanted without having to take the drawer to pieces. "I'm impressed."

"It's very basic." Ianto sounded bored but I'm sure that was just his mood. He moved back to his desk and sat down. "The important part is the cross-referencing. It's through that we'll be able to find relevant papers and associated artefacts."

My heart did a little leap. He had said 'we' which surely meant he planned to stay. I hoped so, really hoped he'd want to stay and not just be here under duress. "I see that. Need a hand? I've got some time on my hands and maybe I can shine some light on the stuff here." I smiled ingratiatingly.

"If you must. You could check that pile over there," he pointed. "I can't read the handwriting."

He went back to perusing the papers and making notes and I got on with my allotted task. I am sure it was the most menial he could think of but in fact it was a fascinating walk down memory lane for me. The files were mainly ones started by Bert, hence the lousy handwriting. He'd lost two fingers – hand grenade at El Alamein – and had done desk work during the fifties. That was a strange decade. So much paranoia about the bomb, spies and the Cold War that Torchwood got sidetracked into all sorts of non-alien activities. Had a lot of fun back then despite rationing. I started putting notes – those sticky ones that don't stay stuck – on the front with details of the file and suggestions for cross-referencing. Did a few more piles after the first one, and enjoyed myself. Quite surprising really but I could see the appeal of creating order out of chaos. Not that I'd want to do it every day, but once in a while was all right.

"_Jack, lunch is here," _announced Suzie over the comms around one o'clock. _"You two coming up?"_

"On our way." I put the file I was working on back on the pile. "Come on, Ianto, lunch."

He came, dragging his feet but he did come. We sat round eating curry and drinking coffee. Suzie entertained us with details of her conquest of the night before, some joker called Mervyn she'd picked up in the bar. He sounded a twat but I've found our Suzie likes them like that, makes her feel superior. Toshiko got Ianto talking about the archives and how they could be computerised. I chatted to Suzie but listened to the others too and realised that the boy did indeed know a lot about computers. We all ended up looking at the demonstration Toshiko had rigged up and made a few suggestions, Ianto getting quite animated for the first time that day. It must have helped take his mind off Lisa.

I got Suzie to baby-sit Ianto in the afternoon. She got all the equipment boxes out and spread them round the Boardroom and then went though each one checking what should be in them and re-stocking them. I watched on CCTV and it was a delight to see, especially when Ianto started suggesting a system for keeping them stocked. He was coming round. Toshiko was fiddling with her archive program incorporating some of the suggestions we'd discussed which left me to take delivery of three tons of fish. Okay, it wasn't really that much but it looked and felt like it when it had to be manhandled along the corridor and down in the lift. The whole place stank by the time I'd got it downstairs. Myfanwy was squawking before I had brought the first load in and I had to give her some there and then. Toshiko ran into my office at first but soon saw that in Myfanwy's eyes she was as nothing when compared to a good piece of pollock and returned to her desk. I had no idea how much fish to give a pterodactyl so just kept going till she looked full. There was plenty of fish left so I took it and put in the huge chest freezer we keep for just such a need.

"Go and shower, Jack," said Toshiko pointedly when I passed behind her on the way to the office.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I retorted, but with a smile. Showered and changed and smelling sweet again, I returned to the work area.

"Anything on the predictor?" I asked Toshiko, standing at her side. I was watching Ianto who was at the coffee machine, even from the back he looked more positive and alert than he had that morning. He and Suzie had finished the boxes and she was sitting at Owen's desk.

"No, it's all very quiet," she replied. "Hope it doesn't go on too long or we'll get bored."

"No likelihood of that," I assured her. "Thanks," I said to Ianto as he handed me the blue and white mug.

"Oh coffee, lovely," sighed Toshiko taking hers. "Thanks."

"As it's quiet, I thought I might take Ianto out for a walk when we've drunk this. If you want to go," I said to him.

"You make me sound like a poodle." He didn't say it angrily but there may have been a bit of hurt in there.

Suzie laughed, her deep-throated gurgle. "No, I see you as a golden Labrador." That defused the moment and we all chuckled. "I want to be out of here by six, Jack. It's Tuesday."

"Yeah, I know. The day you meet your secret lover," I joked. We had no idea what she did on Tuesday evenings but it was important to her so we worked round it. "That's why I thought we could go now." I glanced at my watch: four fifteen.

"If you're going out, Ianto said we need more coffee. You could go to the supermarket at the same time."

"Okay by me. Ianto?" I looked at him wondering what he would decide.

"Do they allow Labradors in shops?" he asked with a smile.

"You'll be Jack's guide dog. He's got no idea what to buy!" said Suzie sarkily. She was right.

"I'd like a bit of fresh air," he continued. "There are a few other supplies we could get at the same time."

"Hey, this was supposed to be a walk not a supermarket trip," I wailed but that did not stop him getting suggestions from the others about what was needed. This was not what I had planned.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fourteen

We ended up at the supermarket – oh joy.

Ianto had a list and actually expected me to push the trolley as he found the items he wanted. And you know what? I did. This boy has some kind of strange power, I'm going to have to analyse it before too much longer. He just looks at me, raises an eyebrow and I'm putty in his hands. I followed in his wake as he trotted up and down the aisles and put items in my trolley which would not steer straight no matter how hard I tried. It seemed to be attracted to nubile young maidens and hunky guys. There were a lot of them about and I'm starting to think that I seriously underrated supermarkets as places to score. I chatted to a few of my 'victims', after apologising profusely, and was delighted when Ianto got huffy. We were wearing the bracelets, you see, so he couldn't storm off and abandon me, he had to stand there and watch the affect I have on the good looking people of Cardiff. Perhaps it will make him appreciate me more.

"Surely that's everything," I said as we went up yet another aisle.

"Just the coffee to get, unless you'd rather go back to buying the other stuff." He did the eyebrow thing again and I melted. I'm a wuss.

"No, I'd have a riot on my hands if I did that." Even Owen had mellowed since he'd been getting Ianto's great brew.

We got coffee, lots of different packets, and added it to the trolley that was seriously heavy to push. At the checkout Ianto deliberately steered me away from the pretty young girls and made me go to one with a grumpy old woman. He is just no fun. He packed it all up and I had to pay for everything which I suppose is only fair. It made me think maybe I should be paying him for all the work he's doing. Have to think about that. Loaded down with four carrier bags apiece, we went back to the Tourist Office. I have never been so mortified in my life as to be walking round the Quay carrying shopping - my image as a dashing hero was going downhill fast.

"Leave them here," I said when we were inside the Office. "Let's take that walk."

"Is there time?"

"Sure, we have half an hour or so."

For once the weather was dry and we sauntered along the boardwalk past the Plass and the Pierhead Building towards the Norwegian Church. There were a few tourists about but not many, it was that time between the end of a family day out and the evening dinner crowd. Ianto sat on a bench and I joined him, staring over the water at the boats going to and fro. He was pensive and while we were silent it was a friendly kind of quiet. I guessed he was still thinking about Lisa, it was a week ago tonight that I'd found her and all his dreams had died.

"I'm sorry about Lisa. She didn't deserve what happened to her, but I had to … do what I did to protect this." I gestured at the scene around us. Ianto said nothing and I glanced sideways at him. He was leaning forwards, forearms on his knees, staring out. "That's why I do this, why I stay here. These people know nothing about what's out there. They go about their lives and imagine that this little planet is the centre of the universe, that it's inviolable, that nothing can menace it. They couldn't be more wrong but, while I can, I'm going to let them live in ignorance a little longer."

"Torchwood One never saw it that way," he said finally. "It was always about grabbing everything and putting it to their own use."

"I know. 'It's alien so it's ours', as Yvonne would say. We're not like that here, at least we're trying not to be."

"Why?" He looked at me then and there was no hostility, no irony or sarcasm just honest interest.

"The twenty first century is when it all changes and Torchwood has to be ready." I'd first heard this from Alex Hopkins and in the years since I'd been trying to hone the sentiment into a meaningful sentence; still not got it quite right.

"That doesn't make sense." Huh, not very diplomatic, this boy. "But I think I get the gist," he went on, "and I prefer it to Yvonne's." Good boy.

"You could be part of it. If you want to be." I let the offer hang, trying to gauge his reaction. The boy was a master at hiding his feelings and I wasn't sure what he was thinking. "You've already proved there's a need for someone like you. Think about it. We'd better be starting back." I stood up and waited for him to get up too.

"It hurts, you know, all the time. It's like … rats gnawing away inside me." He looked up at me. "Have you ever lost anyone?"

_How long have you got?_, I thought, remembering all the people I have loved and lost over the long years. "Yeah, I've lost people and I know exactly how it feels. I lost someone at Canary Wharf. Rose."

He stood up and we started back to the Hub walking slowly, both thinking about the woman we had lost: a lover in his case and a friend in mine. It was strange but I'd never made serious moves on Rose. We'd joked about and we'd kissed once or twice but only to get The Doctor jealous, which he never did – at least, I don't think he did. I'd have so liked him to make a move on me but other than a bit of banter he was nothing more than a mentor who steered me, still not sure how, onto a different path. No more conman for me. He made me a better person, made me care about others and to want to help them. I wonder if he made me not die for that reason. I wouldn't put it past him but why abandon me? The whole thing made no sense and I really, really needed to talk to him.

I let us into the Tourist Office. The room was reasonably large with a counter and shelves and everything but it was dirty and smelt damp. The various leaflets and oddments lying around were pretty old. Suzie had tried to make it look right but given up, besides sparing someone to be up here to answer queries from the public had never worked well. Owen had scared enquirers away and while Toshiko had been fine she was the one most needed downstairs. Ianto was bending down, picking up some leaflets that had fallen to the floor.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" I said, looking round again.

"It could be all right." He tidily put the leaflets on the counter. "You said something about getting it properly set up." He turned to me, his hands in his pockets.

"We need some kind of a cover and this seemed like a good one. At the time."

"I wouldn't mind looking into it, see what's needed, if you want me to."

"You have enough to do already. But thanks for the offer." I grinned at him. He was taking a real interest in our work and that pleased me no end.

"I really don't mind. In fact, I'd quite like to."

We were connecting at last and that was when I blew it. "And I know why. If you were alone up here, you'd be out that door and we'd never see you again." He looked hurt, really hurt and turned away, picking up the carrier bags of shopping. When he straightened up his expressionless mask was back in place.

"We'd better go downstairs, sir."

"Ianto, I'm sorry." I moved closer and gripped his upper arms glad he had the bags in his hands and couldn't push me away. "That was crass and stupid of me. Forgive me?" His eyes, those lovely blue eyes softened a bit and he nodded. "If you want to sort this out, I'd be grateful."

"Okay."

He still wasn't giving much away but I think I'd got him back on side. I leant forward and kissed him – gently, not hot and needy like before. His lips moved under mine and it felt so good. I pressed him against me – he was still hampered by the carrier bags – and that was when the hidden door opened and Suzie came out.

"It's six, Jack, see you tomorrow. Bye, Ianto." She sailed past, a grin on her face, and waved as she went out the front door.

Ianto pulled back, a rosy blush on his cheeks, and he dipped his head shyly. It was delightful and I felt a warm glow wash over me. It had been a long time since I'd had someone feel like this about me and me care about them in return. I liked it and I was pretty sure he did too. "We'd better get downstairs," I said finally and let him go.

We got pizzas in around eight and the three of us sat around eating. Toshiko and Ianto took the couch while I was at Owen's desk. We talked about nothing in particular but it was friendly and light. I watched the other two. They were getting on well, had made a connection, which for two lonely people was quite an achievement. Toshiko had been isolated in the team when Suzie and Owen had had their affair, especially as she was already developing feelings for the doctor. Her shy nature had done the rest and she'd buried herself in work. Lately, she'd joined in a bit more, started to assert herself but only in her areas of expertise. Perhaps if Ianto stayed around, she'd have someone to relate to, to be a friend, and to bolster her confidence. She could do the same for him.

I was answering a 'phone call from the Home Office when Toshiko left for home. Ianto was pottering about clearing up but I had to concentrate on what Bridget was saying and when the call finally ended there was no sign of him. It was disappointing, I'd expected we'd continue where we'd left off upstairs but it seemed it wasn't to be. Feeling down, I wandered out to the main area of the Hub. Myfanwy was circling overhead with a stick in her beak. Suzie had put the nest making materials up on one of the higher walkways and it seems our new pet had found them. I watched for a bit as she made more trips.

"She looks happy." I whirled round to see Ianto standing just behind me. He had changed into jeans and the polo shirt, both back from the laundry, and looked good. Red is his colour, have to persuade him to get some red shirts to go under the suits.

"And she's pooping in the same place," I replied. Without any encouragement from us, she had dropped her frozen wastes in a pile near the base of the water tower. I like neat house guests. We stood looking up then at one another. "Your place or mine?" I said finally.

"You have a place? I thought you stayed here all the time."

"I do. Come on, I'll show you." I led the way up the office and opened the hatch. "_Voila!_"

Ianto peered in then looked at me. "You live down there?"

"Yep, come see." I jumped on the ladder and went down and he followed. I enjoyed the sight of his legs, arse and torso coming into view bit by bit followed by his pretty face. I'll have to invite him down again. "Welcome to my boudoir."

"It's … compact," he said finally and I suppose it is. I've always liked small spaces, got used to them.

"Unlike me," I said, pressing into his side so he could feel how 'uncompact' – I think I just made up a word - I was.

The shag that followed was the best so far. We took our time undressing one another and then exploring our revealed bodies. I discovered he had an appendix scar and a tiny tattoo of a coffee mug at the top of his right thigh – cute. He checked me over for scars and such but, of course, didn't find any. I'd tried a tattoo once but within an hour it had disappeared, my weird body having decided it needed healing. All that pain for nothing. We fell into the bed which was on the small size for the two of us but we managed, mainly as he was on top of me. The meek exterior hid an adventurous sexual animal and I let him have his wicked way with me. God, it was good. He fell asleep in my arms, scrunched between the wall and me, and looked so young and innocent.

That night was one of the quietest I've spent for a long time. I don't sleep much, not since I was changed, and usually spend the nights either outside or working. But this night I stayed right where I was, holding Ianto as he slept. He made little snuffling noises occasionally and called for Lisa twice but quietened when I tightened my hold. I slept too, for a couple of hours, waking around four o'clock. By five, I was getting restless so eased from his side and went off for a shower, padding through the Hub naked like always. I'd frightened Toshiko once when she'd pulled an all-nighter and I'd padded silently past in my birthday suit. I'm pretty sure she works long hours now just in hopes of seeing me again. Washed and dressed I went back to my quarters but Ianto was still asleep. The bracelet looked wrong on his wrist, heavy and alien, and I took it off. He'd made no attempt to leave so far and I didn't think he would now. He was like the rest of us, he needed Torchwood as much as it needed him – he had nothing else. I left the bracelet on the side table, let him see it as a sign that I trusted him.

Back in the work area I checked the Rift predictor and other alarms. The Rift was still quiet at present but it looked like we might get some activity around ten. I sent a text to the team alerting them and telling them to get in by then. Toshiko would be in anyway, and Suzie, but Owen was another matter. If he'd been out partying yesterday there was no knowing what state he would be in or what time he'd roll into work. I stopped to scan the police sites: six youths had torn up Café Reunion and injured a barman; a woman had been stabbed to death in Penarth; a house fire had killed a family of five in Grangetown; the owner of a corner shop had been injured during an attempted robbery; and a doctor's surgery had been broken into. A normal night for Cardiff and, reading it, I wondered why I was protecting these people.

"Jack?" I swung the chair round to see Ianto in the office doorway, wearing jeans but nothing else. His hair was tousled and he looked adorable.

"Ianto. Morning." I grinned at him, hoping I'd get to see this sight on a few more mornings, and stood up. I sauntered over to him, trying desperately not to run.

"This seems to have come off." He held up the bracelet.

"No, I took it off." I was standing close now, and put a hand up to stroke his cheek. "It looked wrong."

"Am I free to leave?"

This was the crunch question. I didn't want him to go, far from it, but was I ready to take the chance that he would? Did I trust him with our secrets?

* * *

_What will Jack decide?_


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the delay in updating but the site has stopped me uploading documents for the past couple of days. At last I can let you know what Jack decides to do about Ianto ..._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifteen

We stood looking at one another for a minute or two as I thought about my answer to his question. Was I going to give him the option of leaving? He had only been here a week and it was barely four days since he had started doing jobs around the place. His moods still fluctuated wildly, from despair to elation and back again, and he'd attacked me. But on the other hand, he had knuckled down to the work I had given him and not run off when he could have done. Did I want him to leave? The answer to that was, of course, no. But did I want him to stay under duress? Surprisingly the answer to that was also no.

"Ianto," I moved closer, placing my hands on his shoulders and holding him lightly. "I want you to stay here, to work with us. Like I said yesterday, there's a job that needs to be done and you seem a perfect fit. If you don't want to do that then," I took a deep breath, "yes, you can go. I trust you not to say anything about us or this base." I meant it too. I know I could give him Retcon as a last resort but I didn't want to.

"What about last night? Was that just … because I was available?" he asked, looking young and vulnerable.

I ran a hand through his hair, brushing it back from his face. "Last night was … very good." I had no idea what to say. I wasn't in love with him, at least I didn't think I was, but he had touched me more than any of my other bed mates in recent years.

"I see." He dropped his gaze and chewed his lip.

"Ianto, look at me." I pulled his chin round so he had to meet my gaze. "You know my reputation, it was all round Torchwood One." I knew he had heard it as it was in his diary and was one of the reasons why he thought he'd be able to get himself and Lisa into the Hub. "So I'm not going to lie to you. Frankly, I don't know what we might become but … I'd like to find out. You intrigue me, Jones Ianto Jones."

He did not reply. I released his chin and he looked down at his feet for several minutes. I had no idea what he was going to decide, the man had learnt the art of not giving anything away. My mobile went off at that moment, an incoming message, and I welcomed the interruption. It was from Suzie confirming she would be in by eight to be ready for the alert. When I turned back to Ianto he was looking at me again.

"I'll give it a try. There's no one else looking to employ me right now." He grinned wryly and I hugged him. I was so relieved he was staying.

"Great. We'll set it up properly soon as we can. You know, contracts and all that, but otherwise just carry on as you have been." I grinned, "In more ways than one." I kissed him then, long and hard and he met me more than half way. I was so looking forward to getting to know this boy better.

"I'll go and get washed and dressed then," he began, turning back to the office and my quarters. "Just get my clothes from your room."

I was relieved and happy all that morning. Ianto moved around the place like he belonged there, his suited figure appearing and disappearing as he cooked breakfast, made coffee, tidied up and then went off to the archives. The rest of the team arrived and settled to their jobs. I didn't mention Ianto's new status, deciding it was better to wait until I'd sorted it out in my own mind first, and no one noticed that Ianto was no longer wearing the bracelet. In any case, we were all waiting to see what the Rift alert would dump on us. At five to ten we found out and Suzie and I headed out to Tremorfa where something had landed in the River Rhymney leaving Toshiko to support us from the Hub. Owen was going through the police alerts to see if there was anything we should follow up and was backup if we needed it.

I like this area of the city, Splott and its neighbour Tremorfa. It was being developed when I'd arrived in Cardiff and I've seen it go from green fields to industrial and housing estates. As we drove past the steelworks I remembered the grand opening by Lord Bute: brass bands, bunting, speeches and the ubiquitous male voice choir. There are so many memories everywhere I look in this city that it can get a bit overwhelming and confusing. I can't count the number of times I've tried to drive down streets that are no longer there or to visit shops that closed years before. Still, this was no time for reminiscences, we had a job to do. I pulled over beside the river in Lamby Way, just by the bridge, and looked around.

"This is the place," said Suzie, scanning the area. "The Rift opened close to the river." She had her head down but I was looking round and noticed something else.

"I think whatever it was has moved." On the left was a knot of people and as we watched a police car drew up to join the one already there.

"I'll check with them." She jumped out of the SUV and strode off. I let her, she's better at chatting to locals and her previous links with the police as a profiler gave her some standing with them. I watched her approach the group and speak to a tall, lanky PC and his shorter WPC partner and there was a lot of pointing and hand waving that meant nothing to me. Suzie was soon back.

"A couple of fisherman saw something land in the water and then drag itself out," she said as she fastened her seatbelt. "When they went to see what it was, they got a whiff of some strange smell and one of them collapsed. He's still out for the count. The other man, and the bystanders, say the thing went off into the park."

"Get Owen out here to look at the fisherman." I gunned the engine and crossed into Rover Way to the eastern edge of the park as she made the call. Mounting the pavement, I ignored the signs and drove through a gap that was – just – wide enough and into the park. "Where now?" I asked, driving on the grass past a children's playground and a boating lake.

"Straight ahead." She was working the scanner and I drove, keeping a eye out for pedestrians but the few that were around gave us a wide berth. Glancing in the rear view mirror I saw a police car following us.

"Did you tell the cops we were Torchwood?" I asked, making a quick left turn to avoid a sudden dip in the ground.

"No, why?"

"They're following us."

The park wasn't that big but I enjoyed the ride. It's always fun driving where you're not supposed to and I wasn't surprised that beside me Suzie was grinning too. She's an unconventional girl and loves a chase. I may have been showing off just a bit when I did a handbrake turn around the fountain and then shot into Muirton Road. The police car was far behind us, taking it much more slowly.

"Where is it?" I asked, looking around. I'd pulled over at the side of the road on a double yellow line.

"Not sure, the readings are confused."

Again good old fashioned eyesight saved the day. To our right was a single storey white building and people suddenly started streaming out of it, falling over one another as they pushed out of the door. Some sensibly kept running but most just milled around a few feet from the building talking to one another. What is the matter with you people? If it's worth running from a building it's really better to keep going.

"Suzie," I pointed to the building at the same time as I drove up on the pavement and crossed the bit of scraggly grass and flowerbeds. The people outside the building looked over at us but still didn't move – idiots.

Charging into the building we discovered it was the Splott swimming pool – the chlorine hit us like a wall. I know I'm sensitive to smells and tastes but even for you people it must have been overpowering. I could also detect another smell and followed my nose over a barrier, through some changing rooms – no one there unfortunately – and into the main room housing the pool. The smell here was still overwhelming chlorine but there was another too, a sickly sweet odour that reminded me of … I turned abruptly and pushed Suzie back the way we had come.

"Keep back! And keep everyone out of here." I manhandled her through the doors and grabbed a handy broom and stuck it through the handles to stop her or anyone else coming back in. Luckily the small windows in the doors were of frosted glass and no one would be able to see in.

Going back to the pool I followed my nose to the Grivet. It was lying in a pool of its own fluids, obviously injured by the trip through the Rift and its dunking in the river. I had come across them on Epsilon Two when with the Time Agency and had hoped never to meet one again. They were around five feet tall and had many tentacles which oozed a foul smelling liquid that was acidic and was already burning through the tiles underneath it. It was not going to survive much longer but it was still struggling to get into the pool where the chlorine would seal its wounds. I couldn't let that happen. Ignoring the smell which would have incapacitated Suzie (and was not doing much for me) and the pain when I grabbed two of its tentacles I yanked it backwards away from the pool. It struggled, lashing out with its other tentacles and caught me across the face and chest. My skin burnt and my shirt was ruined - shall have to give more thought to catching these things naked – but I held on and flipped it onto its back where it was most vulnerable. I managed to get my Webley out of the holster, tough with burnt hands, and put two bullets into its mid section. It twitched then lay still. The pain was bad now and my lungs couldn't cope with the stuff I'd breathed in. Throwing off my greatcoat I jumped into the pool to wash away the corrosive fluids. The relief was instant but it was too late, I died.

I can't describe being dead but it's not a good place. Luckily this time it was just a few minutes until I revived to find myself floating face down in the water. What a way to wake up, I had to move fast to avoid dying again. I splashed to the side of the pool and hauled myself out. The burns were healed and only my torn shirt was permanently damaged. Letting Suzie in – she was banging the door down – I was happy for her to take over. In half an hour, Owen had joined her and they had the Grivet in the SUV, the swimmers and staff had been given the usual baloney of a cover story and the police just stood around looking clueless. My people are good at what they do.

"What the fuck is that thing?" asked Owen. He was driving the SUV and spending more time looking at me than at the road which made for an interesting ride.

"A Grivet," I told him. I was tired. Death does that to me sometimes. I wanted to lie down and sleep but that would have alerted Owen and I can't have that. I forced myself stay awake.

Back at the Hub, Owen and I got the Grivet inside and I changed my clothes. When I got back, lunch was ready and we sat around eating burgers and chips which was a nice change from pizza. Ianto was unobtrusive as always, hovering on the edge of the group as we sat and stood around the work area. I caught him looking at me with the weird expression a couple of times. I was still on the couch when Ianto asked for my help in the archives. Truth to tell I really wanted to stay where I was and have a nap but I forced myself to my feet and followed him downstairs. The others were busy – Owen on the Grivet's autopsy and Suzie and Tosh were updating the database and writing the case notes – so they didn't comment when Ianto and I disappeared.

"In here," said Ianto pushing me into the room we'd made into a bedroom for him. "You look awful, are you okay?" How about that? The three colleagues upstairs who'd known me for years had seen nothing strange but this boy had known immediately that something was not right.

"Tired. You didn't leave much time for sleep last night," I replied moving closer and grabbing his hips. He stood still, inches away and studied my face totally unmoved.

"You were fine this morning. What really happened?" He was definitely perceptive and I didn't think he'd be brushed off as easily as the others but there was no way I was going to tell him the truth. We stared at one another and he lowered his eyes. "If you want some sleep you can crash in here. They won't know." He turned and walked out of the door, closing it quietly.

I had no idea whether I had handled that well or not, I suspect not, but the need for sleep was too strong to be denied any longer. I sat on the bed, took off my boots and lay down and remembered nothing more until I was being shaken awake. It was Ianto.

"Back so soon?" I said, smiling up at him.

"You've been asleep three hours. The others will be wondering what's going on." And knowing them they would be trawling the gutters of their minds for the cause of my absence.

"Right, thanks." I got up and felt a lot better for the rest. "Um, Ianto - "

"It's okay, I won't say anything."

He bent to tidy the covers and I watched him. Not with lust for once, in appreciation. This boy was old beyond his years and even though we'd met in less than ideal conditions we seemed to be making a connection. Last time this happened was way back, beyond Lucia and the hot passion that had accompanied that tempestuous liaison. It was Estelle more than fifty years ago who had last read me so well and elicited these sorts of feelings. I could get very close to Ianto if I didn't watch out. Our return to the main level of the Hub did not go unnoticed or unremarked.

"At last!" yelled Owen across the space as we emerged from the archway. "Must have shagged him senseless, Harkness."

"Owen!" hissed Toshiko sending a dangerous look in his direction.

"They have been gone a long time, Tosh," piped up Suzie, grinning at us as we walked up the steps by the water tower. "Maybe it's lurve," she drawled.

"All right you've had your fun. Where are we on the Grivet autopsy, Owen? Suzie, I want the cell occupation statistics on my desk before you leave tonight. And, Tosh … carry on with whatever you're doing." With the flurry of orders and questions I tried to deflect attention from us but I'm pretty sure this was not the last we'd hear about it. "Ianto, some coffee would be appreciated."

"Of course, sir." His expressionless mask was in place and he went off to the kitchen while I dived into the office and out of Owen and Suzie's line of fire. Didn't work completely as Suzie followed me in.

"The statistics," she said putting a folder on my desk. "There was a murder last night, a woman got stabbed in Penarth. I know you're not keen but using the Glove on murder victims would give us more information about its properties. It works best on the recently deceased."

"Suzie, you know what I think about that Glove."

"I'll lay off you and the boy wonder if you say yes." Her expression was self-satisfied in the least; she had me over a barrel if I wanted to protect Ianto from her barbed tongue.

"Who says there'll be another murder?" I countered, not very successfully.

"No one, but there might be. If there is I want a crack at him." She stood with arms folded and stared at me. Blackmail is not nice when you're on the receiving end.

"Okay." What else could I do. Anyway, there aren't that many murders in Cardiff, it would probably be weeks another one. How wrong I was.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixteen

I watched Suzie leave the office wondering if I should have given in so easily to her blackmail but it was too late now. Outside the office, I could only see the back of Owen's head but could imagine his smirking expression as he watched Ianto in the kitchen making the coffee. Should I protect the boy or leave him to fend for himself? It didn't seem fair to abandon him so I stood up preparatory to going out there but the phone rang: John Frobisher really picks his moments. I got rid of him quickly and turned to walk out into the work area where I could see Ianto doing the rounds with the coffee.

"Thanks, Ianto," said Toshiko as she took her mug. She was smiling up at the Welshman and doing her best to be kind to him. She really is a treasure, I must do something nice for her soon, buy some more computer kit or something.

"Didn't take you long to get into the boss's bed, eh, teaboy?" smirked Owen. "You always sleep your way into a job?"

Ianto kept an expressionless face and placed Owen's coffee on his desk. I wanted to smack the little bastard but I caught Ianto's eye and the negligible shake of the head as he turned to retrieve Suzie and my coffees.

"Got no answer to that, eh?" gloated Owen, following Ianto's every move. He sipped the coffee and spluttered. "Bleeding hell, what's this!?"

"What's wrong?" asked Toshiko, all concerned. Honestly, she just can't see Owen for the prat he is sometimes.

"This stuff, it's … it's dishwater!"

"It's instant," said Ianto as he passed Owen to give me my mug. "You'll get the better coffee when you've apologised."

Oh it was glorious to see: Owen just stared at him, speechless for once. He's not cruel by nature, least I don't think he is, just takes his sarky comments a bit too far. He doesn't seem to know when to stop. I sipped my coffee and was relieved to find it was the good stuff. Suzie accepted her coffee and eyed it warily, not sure what would be in the mug. Her face when she took her first sip told us she too had been targeted for Ianto's revenge.

"I'm sorry, Ianto. I'll never tease you again. About anything," she said immediately and sincerely, putting the mug on the coffee table.

"Fuck, you just going to cave!?" demanded Owen, on his feet and shrugging into his jacket. "Well I'm not. I'll be back when I've got some decent stuff." With that he stalked out.

"Don't bother!" I called after him. The autopsy results could wait and I could at least give Ianto a break from the miserable bugger for the rest of the day. "Come back in a better mood and ready to apologise tomorrow."

"Fuck you! Oh no, that's the teaboy's job," was the all the reply I got.

Ianto gave Suzie a mug of good coffee and stood drinking his own. I wanted to kiss him but thought that would be a bit stupid given the circumstances. Deciding now was as good a time as any, I said, "You should know that Ianto has agreed to join the team. He'll be our support in the Hub." They took it well.

"That's good news," said Toshiko immediately. "I'll need to set you up with a PC. Where is he going to be sitting, Jack?"

I floundered, not having thought it through that far. I never do, it's a real problem for me. I make decisions and sort out the minutiae later, if ever. Suzie grinned at my confusion then put me out of my misery.

"I'll set that up tomorrow, Ianto. Let me know if you prefer any particular place. Got a contract yet?" She looked from him to me and shook her head. "No, I see not. We'll work on that too. Welcome aboard." She walked back to her own desk. In her own way, Suzie is as much of a treasure as Toshiko.

I glanced at my watch, just gone five. It was a bit early to send the others home yet even though I'd like Ianto to myself. Thinking of home made me pause: would Ianto be living back in his flat now? Shit, I really should have thought this through! I didn't want him to go home every night, I wanted him here with me. God, I am so needy. Ianto was talking to Toshiko so I slunk into the office to get on with some work having slept all afternoon.

As I worked through the e-mails and paperwork, I wondered why deaths affected me differently. The simplest and quickest was a bullet to the head: I died immediately and came round in minutes with no after effects. Lingering deaths – starvation, some poisons and bleeding out – were bad: they were painful and I took up to an hour to revive with another several hours to recover fully. I recovered from drowning quite quickly, like today, but needed to sleep afterwards. I had started to keep details of all this, well actually Alice Guppy had started and after she died I had found her notebook and continued. I think she was using me as some kind of a test subject. I'd stopped after the War, the First World War that is, far too many deaths to record after that hellish four years. My problem was that I had no one to share all the information with, no one to help me analyse it. I'm sure Owen would love the challenge of working it out, probably too much: I was not prepared to be experimented upon, not again. This was when I really needed The Doctor to show up, so he could explain it and then cure me. Soon, very soon now, I hoped.

"Want to come out for a drink?" asked Suzie, sticking her head round the door.

"Ah … not tonight, thanks," I smiled. That's another thing I had to be wary of after dying. Alcohol did not make me drunk anymore unless I had died less than twenty four hours earlier.

"Okay. Tosh, Ianto, drink?" She asked the others as she made for the coat stand.

I held my breath, was the boy going to go out with them? To my relief I heard the others decline, but Toshiko did decide to leave with Suzie. There was no Rift activity predicted and I hoped for another quiet night. I saw the girls leave. Ianto was sat at Owen's desk using the PC and seemed busy. Fighting the urge to go and check what he was doing – I trusted him, didn't I? – I continued with the work on my desk and got involved in reports and analyses. I didn't stop until Ianto knocked softly at the door.

"I'm hungry, how about you?" he asked in his lovely Welsh voice. He was standing just inside the office with his hands in his pockets, suit jacket off and tie at half mast.

"Yeah, I could eat something. Want to go out?" I really wanted to eat him.

"I was thinking of doing a stir fry, there's enough in the fridge."

"Great."

The rest of that evening was one of the best I've had in a long time. We ate the meal which was tasty while watching some daft talent programme on TV that had us laughing. Why do people put themselves forward for ridicule like this? It must be a 21st century thing. After eating, we went down to my quarters again and had some great sex; the boy is very talented in the bed department. I managed a reassuring word as we lay together afterwards but he seemed pretty okay about Owen's attitude so I didn't belabour the point. The only thing to mar the night was a Weevil loose in Grangetown. I went off to handle it and when I got back I found Ianto had decamped to his room downstairs. I stood watching him sleep for almost half an hour before going back to my own bed.

Thursday was busy with reports of more Weevils, this time in Rhiwbina. I sent Owen and Suzie wanting the doctor out of the way as much as possible. He had arrived that morning with a huge container of Starbucks coffee and made a show of drinking it. It made no difference to us, Ianto's brew was ten times better and Owen knew it. I suppose it was a cruel of me to put my mug down on his desk so he could get a whiff of the gorgeous aroma but he only had to say sorry to Ianto, it wouldn't kill him. Ianto had decided to set up his desk over by the armoury which saddened me, I'd have liked him nearer than that, but when I saw him moving the coffee machine over there and getting all cosy I was reassured. It looked like he was here to stay. I left Toshiko and him setting up a PC and went off to the Indoor Market where a new trader was selling dubious items.

I think I may have mentioned before that my greatcoat pockets were useful. I proved it again when I confiscated a lot of the trader's stock; he had no idea what he was selling. Wandering back into the Hub after two that afternoon it was great to see Ianto sitting at a desk with a PC and papers all around him guarding the coffee machine. It gave me a warm glow to think I was going to see him there every day for a long time. He looked up and smiled and I fairly skipped up the steps to the work area.

"Some toys to play with," I said to Toshiko as I emptied my pockets and dumped the stuff on her desk. Her eyes lit up and she immediately started sorting through all the items. They were small, non-dangerous artefacts but in the wrong hands they could cause problems.

"Anything interesting?" asked Suzie. She was standing at the entrance to the medical bay where I could just see Owen cutting into the Weevil they had encountered that morning. It had been acting weird and we needed to find out why.

"Not really. Just the usual flotsam and jetsam. Ianto," I called, "any chance of a coffee?" He looked up and nodded before going back to the PC. He looked really cute when he was concentrating, a small frown on his forehead.

He brought the coffee about ten minutes later, along with some heated up Chinese – I'd missed lunch. "Is it okay if I go upstairs to look round the Tourist Office?" he asked as he put the container and mug down.

"Sure. Think you can do something with it?" I had the food in my hand and was tucking in – pork balls, my favourite.

"Maybe. Thought I might take a walk too," he continued hesitatingly.

This really was crunch time for me. I'd said he was free to go where he wanted but I was still wary he might leave. "Fine, you could probably do with some fresh air," I managed to sound nonchalant.

"I was hoping you might come with me," he added and my heart leapt. Oh, I really like this boy.

"Love to. Owen still giving you a hard time?" I asked, trying to cover my elation with talk of ordinary matters.

"I can handle him. I'll get upstairs then, walk in an hour?"

"Sure." He walked off and I watched him until he disappeared while I tucked into the food. He was wearing a darker suit today and a white shirt and looked lovely but I did miss the tight jeans and skinny tops. Have to ask him to wear them again this evening, just for me.

An hour later I went up to the Tourist Office which was cleared of all the stray brochures and leaflets and already looked cleaner. "Hey, good job," I said, maybe a little too heartily. Was I being patronising? Probably. It certainly earned me a quizzical look from my gorgeous Welshman. "Ready for a walk?"

"Not a poodle, sir," he remarked, finishing off wiping down a shelf. "Or a Labrador." He smiled when he turned round so I knew it was okay. It is so hard to know sometimes; his little quips are said with such a straight face and serious voice. He put on his jacket and we went out.

We walked a fair distance, not aiming for anywhere in particular, and ended up in the city centre back where I had been that morning. It was busy with locals and tourists and we dodged them as best we could before swinging round in a big circle through some side streets and heading back to the Bay. We were near the bus station when a woman came up to Ianto.

"Ianto Jones, haven't seen you in ages! Thought you were still in London." She was grinning at him and had a hand on his arm, very friendly. Then she reached up – she was quite short – and kissed him on the lips. Not anything deep and meaningful but a kiss nonetheless.

I walked on a pace or two and leant against a convenient wall keeping my eye on the pair of them. Who was she? How did she know Ianto? What was his reaction going to be? For the first time in a long time I was feeling jealous and that made me realise just how much I was starting to feel for the boy. I was so busy thinking about my feelings I forgot to listen to what they were saying and was surprised to find him standing in front of me, that eyebrow lifted in interrogation.

"Shall we get back?" he asked, turning to continue the walk.

I looked around and saw the woman disappearing into the crowd of shoppers. "Sure," I spluttered and fell in beside him. "Who was that?"

"A friend."

He said no more but I couldn't let it go. "Close friend?" I asked, trying to be casual. We were waiting to cross the road, surrounded by other people, and he was quiet until we had got to the other side and were again on our own.

"Does it matter?" He stopped then and looked at me. "I've heard enough about your conquests from Owen."

"What's he been saying?"

"That you're using me. That I'm a part-time shag at best. That you'll sleep with anything that breathes and probably anything that doesn't."

"You knew that already, it's in your diary." Oh boy, was that the wrong thing to say. His face when pale then red.

"You've read my diary!?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"I had to. I needed to find out if you were a threat."

He stood there, shaking with suppressed rage and I wondered if he would attack me. I wouldn't blame him, I suppose. With a effort I saw him contain himself and gradually calm down. He turned and walked on, fast, and I had to jog a few steps to catch up with him. We strode along and what had been a pleasant walk turned into a route march that left no breath for talking even if I could have thought of something to say. We were in the Plass when I realised I hadn't shown him the lift and thought it might be a diversion from his current mood.

"Hold up," I said. Putting a hand on his arm I almost had to drag him to a halt. "Look, I'm sorry. You can have it back."

"Thanks," he replied very sarcastically. "Now you've all had a chance to read it - "

"No!" I interrupted. "The others haven't read it, I never told them about it. I wanted to get to know you and when I had I realised there was no need for the others to be told anything." He said nothing to this, just continued to look angry. "There's another entrance to the base, it's just here."

I led the way to the water tower and stood on the stone. I had been a few paces in front of him and I had to smile when he looked around suddenly, searching for me. The perception filter was working just fine. Stepping off the stone, I grinned.

"Now you see me, now you don't." I got back on the stone. He looked very hard at where I was standing and after a few seconds a look of wonder came over his face and he stepped on beside me.

"What is this?" he asked wonderingly.

"An invisible lift."

I used my wrist controls and the lift started to move. When he saw how high up we were, he grabbed my arm and held on tight as we made our stately descent. Myfanwy came round to see what was going on but she had learnt we were friends and did not attack, just circled as we travelled down. It was kind of fun and I was grinning when we finally reached the ground. I needed something to get me into a better mood after the quarrel over the diary.

* * *

_Will Ianto forgive Jack?_


	17. Chapter 17

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventeen

I had really loused up. After giving Ianto a nice dramatic entrance to the Hub he went off to his desk and pointedly stayed away from me for the rest of the evening. No cosy meal for two or watching TV this night. I went to my office and stayed there feeling stupid for getting so caught up with a boy I barely knew. I was making myself look a fool.

Ianto went about his duties in the efficient way I had come to expect. He fed Myfanwy and I saw Toshiko join him and give our pet a chocolate treat. They seemed to be getting on well, all smiles and chat. Suzie had gone home when Owen came to see me with some data about the Weevils that he'd been working on, a folder in one hand and a large Starbucks coffee in the other. He was not going to apologise to Ianto anytime soon.

"Got a minute to talk through this?" he asked, flapping the folder in my face.

"Sure."

He sat down and launched into a summary of his findings. The Weevils had been around a long time, the population growing to its current couple of hundred from the original pair that had fallen through the Rift decades before, all by new arrivals – they didn't appear to breed. In that time, no one had bothered with them much. They lived in the sewers and other underground spaces and for the most part it was a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Only when they went rogue and came up to the surface were they a problem, attacking people in the vicinity. For some reason Owen had become interested in the creatures and had gone to a lot of trouble to collect data on their habits. It was interesting stuff and we got involved in the discussion, so much so that I forgot all about Ianto.

"This is really good, Owen," I said, sitting back in my chair. "What we need now is to be able to predict when they're likely to go rogue."

"Right. I'd like to observe one, at close quarters." He was enthusiastic and had lost that sulky and antagonistic manner he adopts all too often. "When we get a chance, I want to catch one and keep it downstairs."

I thought about the request and it seemed reasonable to me. They were simple enough to look after. "Okay. Brief the others so they know we're looking for a good subject."

"Will do." He stood up, gathering this papers together. "A female would probably be best, more amenable."

"Haven't noticed a difference myself," I observed. I've been gashed and killed by both sexes equally.

"All right if I get off now?"

"Yeah." He went off, happy for once. I wish he could be like that all the time.

I was about to get on with the work on my desk when Toshiko appeared at the office door. She had a folder in her hand which I eyed warily – far too many people were appearing in my office with folders. She closed the door behind her and sat down without being asked which is unusual for her.

"Ianto's upset," she stated baldly, staring at me. "What have you done?"

"What does he say I've done?" I countered. I've always believed that attack is the best form of defence.

"He won't say but he's really angry with you." She continued to stare at me waiting for an explanation. Oh well, may as well as tell her.

"When we went through his flat I found his diary." Her mouth fell open and she looked shocked, anticipating what I was going to say. "We needed to know all we could about him so I took it and read it. And stupidly, I told him."

"You're an idiot, Jack."

"I had to read it!" I insisted. Seems she's forgotten we knew nothing about the boy when we first met him.

"I know that," she said dismissively. "You're an idiot for letting him find out like that. Have you given it back to him?" I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Haven't had a chance."

"Then do it now. And apologise, maybe he'll forgive you." She stood up and walked to the door. "He admires you, Jack, and cares about you. You want to throw that away?" She opened the door and walked out.

I sat watching her return to her desk and settle back to some more work, her words ringing in my ears. Ianto cares for me? That made me scared but unreasonably happy at the same time. Opening the drawer, I saw the boy's diary where I had left it. She was right, I should give it back. With it in my hand I stood up only to see Ianto standing in front of the desk; I hadn't heard him come in. In his hand was a mug of coffee.

"I was just coming to return this," I said, handing over the diary.

He took it without a word, put the coffee on my desk and left. He crossed the Hub and disappeared thorough the archway to the lower levels, going to put it away I assumed. With a sigh I sat back down and reached for the coffee. It was only when I'd tasted it that I remembered Ianto's chosen form of revenge and spat it out all over my desk. Instant coffee! Toshiko laughed and I glared at her.

I tried to settle to some work but couldn't so grabbed my greatcoat and went out. Toshiko was staying a bit longer and would switch the alert to me when she decided to leave. I went up, onto the roof of the Millennium Centre and stood looking round drinking the coffee I'd bought. I desperately needed some perspective, some way to get the boy out of my head so that I could concentrate on what was important. It was easier said than done but I was diverted by some of the people walking round the Plass. One couple were having a flaming row and the woman eventually stormed off with the man pathetically running after her. A group of young lads walked by, full of bravado but really insecure; I pity the girls they tried to hit on. Was it really worth saving these people?

"_Jack, I'm going to head home,"_ came over the comms.

"Okay, Tosh. Switch the alert to me."

"_Will do." _

I waited a few minutes and then saw her appear around the corner from the Tourist Office, heels tapping on the boardwalk. She went to her car and drove off. I looked back and saw a familiar figure by the water tower – Ianto. What was he doing? Nothing it seemed. He stood looking round and then sat on the steps. After a few minutes, I went back inside the Centre and emerged by the bus stop. He was still where I had last seen him.

"You coming in?" I asked as I neared where he was sitting.

"Not yet." He didn't look at me so short of using force I had no option but to leave him there.

I used the lift and carried on down to the firing range. Chucking my greatcoat to one side, I picked up the Newok blaster and used it to demolish some targets. Then I used my Webley and a few of the other weapons that were set out there. It felt good to let rip. I suppose I was down there an hour all told. I walked back past Ianto's room and saw him sitting on a chair he'd acquired from somewhere eating a sandwich while reading a book and listening to his Ipod. He looked up as I stood in the doorway then pointedly went back to his book.

That was a very long night; I'd grown used to having company.

It didn't get any better the next day, a Friday. Toshiko was off and Ianto kept to himself. He gave me instant coffee again and I left it where it was on the desk. I'd had enough of being punished so grabbed my greatcoat and walked out into the work area. Suzie was playing with the Glove again, on what looked like a dead cat, and Ianto was down in the archives.

"Let's go find ourselves a Weevil," I said to Owen who was as bored as me.

"Great."

We bombed around the city trying to find the Weevils we'd put trackers on a few days before but didn't get a trace of them. But we had fun, just the two of us and the fabulous SUV. I drove it round the ring roads and out onto the dual carriageway just to throw it around a little, with the radio blasting out something loud Owen had picked. Finally I stopped at a cafe and we picked up a couple of coffees and buns which we ate at a table outside. In the watery sunshine it was very pleasant.

"So, Jack, what have you done to piss off the teaboy?"

"Who says I've done anything?" I replied calmly.

"The instant coffee treatment kind of gave it away," he smirked.

"No one's told you?" I was surprised, Toshiko would not have held out against Owen, she likes him too much. Then I remembered, he had left before I'd told her.

"Nope. Has he said 'no' to your debauchery then?"

I shook my head and finished the coffee. It was a good brew but it wasn't Ianto's brew and once tasted it was hard to put up with anything less. "I read his diary," I admitted.

"So? What was in it then? Tell all, Harkness!" he grinned.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that, gotta be something good in there."

"No. Just the musings of a troubled young man." I looked over at Owen. "How do you think he's doing? Is he still suffering from PTSD?"

"It's not something you just get over," he replied angrily. "Telling him to pull himself together won't hack it either. He's doing okay, though, I'll give him that. Probably bottling up stuff though, stuff that needs to come out. You ought to get him to talk a bit more."

"He's barely talking to me right now," I observed.

"Oh yeah." Owen's throaty chuckle held no sympathy.

"He talks to Tosh, they're getting friendly."

"Really? And you're willing to share him?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Owen. I said friendly and I meant friendly, like friends." If I didn't know exactly what had happened to Katie, Owen's late fiancée, I'd never have believed this man could ever have had a normal relationship with a woman.

"Maybe he'll open up to her then." He scrunched up the paper bag that had contained the buns and lobbed into the waste bin, followed by his coffee cup. "Better get back."

I deposited my cup in the waste bin and we got back in the SUV. It was then I realised what had changed and twisted round to look at the back seat. "This has been cleaned," I said. The smell and rubbish had gone and the upholstery and dashboard had been buffed up.

"Teaboy did it," said Owen. "He was doing it when I got in this morning."

I started the engine and pulled out into the traffic without speaking. Ianto was continuing to do his job, more than his job, despite the … upset between us. In that he was acting better than I was; I'd just spent a whole morning doing nothing just to get away from him. There had to be a better way of handling this situation and I realised the obvious. I had still not apologised to him for taking and reading the damned diary. If I did that maybe, maybe we could get back to where we were before. And I wanted that, a lot more than I was prepared to admit.

The Hub was quiet when we got back. Suzie was at her desk and Ianto was nowhere to be seen. I hung up my greatcoat, looked through the messages and then checked the CCTV: Ianto was in the archives. I headed down there. He was in the registry which looked much tidier. The piles of folders had been sorted and put away and, by inference, that meant he had cross referenced them too. Maybe we'd be able to find things in the future.

"Ianto," I began, standing in front of the desk, "I'm sorry I didn't return your diary earlier, or tell you I had it. But I'm not sorry I read it. If I hadn't, well you might still be in a cell." _Or worse_, I thought.

"Okay."

"Are we … all right now? Do I get the good coffee?" I tried a smile.

"Is that the only reason you apologised?" This boy was not going to let me off the hook easily.

"No. I missed you last night." I saw his look change, soften.

"I missed you too," he said softly with a hint of a smile.

Putting my hands on the desk, I leant over it and kissed him gently. He responded and I broke contact just long enough to get round the desk and pull him out of the chair and into my arms. Things were just getting interesting when the comms crackled into life.

"_Lunch is here,"_ announced Suzie. I was about to tell Ianto but it was clear he had heard the message too.

"She gave me a comms," he said, reading my mind. "We'll be right up," he said into the comms but not moving away from me.

Steeling myself, I said, "Before we go, I've got to ask. Who was the woman that kissed you yesterday?" He regarded me solemnly and I thought I'd blown it – again.

"We dated for a while, when I was at Uni." He continued to look at me almost daring me to ask more. I was never one to refuse a dare.

"And … that's it?"

"Yeah." A pause. "She's married to a fireman and has two kids now." Then he smiled, a special little smile that said he was not offended by me asking about her, maybe he was even a little flattered that I cared enough to ask. This boy is going to be a challenge after all. I kissed him.

Lunch was curry which Owen ate with thick slices of buttered bread and a spoon. It's a disgusting habit but one Suzie and I had grown used to. Ianto hadn't. He looked at the doctor – who was stuffing food into his mouth like he hadn't had a square meal in a week - as if he was some guinea pig in an experiment. I half expected him to start taking notes. It's amazing but in just ten minutes my mood had changed and purely as a result of being back on good terms with this boy. I was seriously besotted.

The afternoon passed pleasantly. There were no alerts and we all just got on with various tasks. Suzie went out to meet a contact and follow up on some police reports, Owen was doing more research on the Weevils and in particular trying to find the ones we'd put trackers on, and Ianto was cleaning. I sat in my office checking paperwork but also watching the slim figure pootling around. It never seemed to take him long to get the place tidy. Mid-afternoon he went up the Tourist Office and I got on with some uninterrupted work; I intended to be clear for tonight.

When it got to six o'clock and Ianto had not returned I got worried. Had he run off after all? I couldn't think straight and my fears got the better of me so I climbed the stairs; I like using the stairs when I can, its too easy to get lazy using the lift all the time. Opening the door at the top I was almost clobbered by a rack of leaflets attached to the other side. I stood stock still and looked around. The place had been transformed. The shelves were filled with neat stacks of leaflets and brochures; a notice board held details of special events; the counter was tidy and as well as the PC and phone it held small piles of bus timetables and maps and a RNLI collection box; a back-lit section under the counter held small Welsh craft items; and a whirly rack of postcards was on my immediate right. It was bloody wonderful.

There was no sign of Ianto and I was about to look outside when the beaded curtain moved and he walked through, all six feet of gorgeousness in an only slightly crumpled suit. He smiled at me shyly.

"You've been busy," I commented.

"What do you think? Is it what you wanted?" He came towards me and lifted the flap in the counter to walk through.

"It's better that I ever thought it could be," I admitted. "Where did you get all this stuff?"

"Wales Tourist Board. We are now an accredited outlet."

"You are a marvel." I planted a kiss on the very tip of his nose.

* * *

_Just wanted to thank you all for putting this story on alert and for leaving reviews, all much appreciated. More soon._


	18. Chapter 18

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighteen

Saturday morning dawned and I was up with the lark and in a very happy mood. Ianto and I had gone out to a little bistro for a meal the night before, my thank you for the great job he had done with the Tourist Office, and then we had ended up in his quarters. We had only just made it there, having been unable to keep our hands off one another as soon as we were in the Hub. Clothes were discarded in our wake and we almost ended up shagging in the corridor; not a major problem but the concrete can be rough on sensitive parts. Instead, I got to share the boy's camp bed which, thankfully, is pretty robust.

Suzie was in early as she was having the afternoon and all day Sunday off. She prefers a longer break so accumulates her hours. I try to give them all at least one day off a week and we've been managing that pretty well lately. Plus I cover the nights, only calling them in for an emergency, so they don't do too badly. I was whistling as I walked past Suzie, hands in my trouser pockets and a grin on my face. I stopped when I saw, dangling from a pen she held in her hand, a pair of very snazzy briefs. Ianto's briefs.

"Yours, Jack?" she asked archly.

"No, I'm a thong man," I smirked. "Hate bunching."

"Too much information." Her face took on a pained expression. "Do I take it these are - "

"Mine, thank you," said Ianto coming up soundlessly behind me. He reached out and took the offending briefs, screwed them into a ball and stuffed them into a pocket. "Coffee?" He was already on his way to the kitchen but I saw the telltale pink blush on the back of his neck.

"You two are just so cute," she said sarcastically going back to her work checking the police reports.

I was still chuckling when Ianto brought the mug of coffee and put it on my desk. It smelt wonderful, the good stuff still. Behind him, I saw Toshiko come in.

"Jack, what's going on with the Tourist Office?" she asked, standing in the office doorway still wearing her leather jacket. That had been one of the first things she'd bought after joining us and it still looked good.

"Ianto did it up. What do you think?" I stood up and followed her and Ianto out into the work area, coffee mug in hand.

"It's great. Looks much better than before," she enthused. "Where did you get the stuff from, Ianto?"

I stood and listened to the pair of them as he told her all that he had done and she asked detailed questions and praised him profusely. It was good to see them getting on so well but the picture was blighted when Owen arrived with his huge mug of shop-bought coffee and started making sarky remarks. Deciding to leave them to it, I turned to go back to the office when Suzie called for my attention.

"What is it?" I asked, walking over to her. She was staring intently at her monitor and tapping at the keyboard.

"A man has just been found behind the prison. Shot." Her face when she looked up at me was split by a dazzling smile. Not quite the thing one expects when she's announcing a murder. "The police are still at the scene." She was already reaching for the box containing the Glove.

"Look, I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Maybe we - "

"You promised, Jack." She stood and glared at me, challenging me to refuse her. I didn't have the heart, besides it would be interesting to see what the Glove could do with a human. I really had to take more interest in work, I had been too distracted by Ianto this past week.

"All right." I drank the last of my coffee as I strode back to the office. "Owen, Tosh with us. We're going to test the Glove." I put the empty mug on the desk, strapped on the Webley and grabbed my mobile. I was about to get my greatcoat but Ianto was there before me, holding it out ready for me to slip my arms into the sleeves. He is such a find. "You be okay here on your own, Ianto?"

"Yes. I've got plenty to do."

I was a little reluctant but he had proved trustworthy up 'til now and I was not about to lock him in a cell again. "Okay. We shouldn't be long."

"What are we doing?" asked Owen, waiting at the cog door.

"Raising the dead," answered Suzie.

Her explanation continued as we jumped into the SUV and I drove up Lloyd George Avenue into Bute Terrace which became Adam Street. There used to be a demarcation between the two streets but now they run into one another which is just plain confusing. On our left the walls of the prison loomed and I spotted the mob of emergency vehicles clustered down a side street and swung in behind them. Toshiko had alerted the authorities, telling them that we were coming, and the scene had been cleared of those men in the white paper suits that make them look like bunny rabbits.

"So how do we play this?" asked Toshiko as we got out of the vehicle.

"I need to be behind the victim," said Suzie straight away. "One of you will have to ask him some questions." We were walking up to the crime scene tape and she flashed her ID.

"Like what?" demanded Owen. He had a medical equipment box with him but it was more for show that anything, after all we knew the guy was beyond all help.

"We'll play it by ear," I said before the discussion could degenerate into an argument. No need for the forces of law and order to witness that. "Follow Suzie's lead."

The man was lying in a large pool of blood, half on and half off a strip of pavement that ran up the narrow, one way street. He was about thirty with a shock of blond hair and wearing jeans, shirt and a denim jacket. The cause of death was obvious – a large hole in his chest with a ring of deep red blood around it. I watched as Suzie positioned herself behind him and got the Glove out, the rest of us just stood around, screening what we were doing from the spectators. Tosh had her scanner out to record everything that happened.

"I have to … to …" Suzie was jiggling the Glove around on her right hand.

"What!?" demanded Owen again. He hates being in situations where he doesn't have a role to play. Bit of an attention seeker is our Owen, likes to be the star of the show.

"To get access to it. I think, ah, got it." Some small blue lights glowed in the glove and she placed it under the man's head and concentrated.

"Owen, get ready to talk to him when he wakes up." I scanned the area to confirm that everyone was well back and that we were not overlooked. Lord knows what anyone would make of this if the Glove worked.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you've got nothing else do! Do it!" I told him. Grumbling he knelt beside the body and rocked backwards when the man's eyes opened. We were all rather surprised – the wretched Glove had worked.

"We don't have long," said Suzie urgently.

"Take it, take it. You can have it all," the revived man said in a Scottish accent. He looked from one to the other of us, terrified.

"What?" queried Owen in his usual abrupt manner.

"There's no need to shoot, just take the money."

"I don't want your bleeding money. Mugging was it?"

"Just take it, please. I have a wife, a daughter. Please don't kill me."

"Thirty seconds," said Suzie efficiently watching the readout.

"Where you from?" asked Owen, obviously searching for something to say.

"Montrose." Suddenly with no warning the light went from the dead man's eyes and his head slumped to one side.

"That was thirty six seconds," said Suzie. She had put the man's head back on the ground and was removing the Glove.

"Is that good?" I asked, ignoring Owen's scowl.

"I've got up to two minutes with cats and dogs so I think we should be able to do better next time." The Glove was back in the box and Suzie was standing up.

"Next time? Well I'm not doing the talking," protested Owen, also back on his feet.

"Good idea. 'Where are you from?' What kind of question is that?" retorted Suzie. "Couldn't you think of anything better to ask?"

"I don't think it was that bad," said Toshiko loyally. "I wouldn't have known what to say either." Honestly, she really will do anything for Owen.

"Thanks, Tosh." The doctor looked at her and rewarded her loyalty with a smile which had her grinning besottedly.

The pair of them led the way back to the SUV and Suzie and I followed close behind. At the barrier I waited until they were through before smiling at the policeman in charge. "All yours," I said brightly.

"That's it?" he demanded.

"Yup." I was chuckling at his expression when we got back in the SUV and even Owen stopped scowling for an instant as we swept out of the street past the dumbfounded police officers.

Toshiko checked in with Ianto on our way back to the Hub. I was glad she had as I was anxious for my Welshman. Hearing his lovely accented voice calmed me and I was relieved to hear he had opened the Tourist Office and was up there. He'd had people in making enquiries and sounded happy. It was ten forty when we trooped back into the Hub through the garage entrance. Suzie went off to write up the report, Toshiko sat at her desk to check all the alerts and alarms we have set up round the city and Owen disappeared into the medical bay.

I sat in the office and contemplated what we had just done. We'd brought someone back to life. He had been dead and we had brought him back and talked to him, not about anything of any interest admittedly but we HAD talked to him. I accessed the police channels and checked the information about the incident. The man's name was Thomas Hamilton, 33, a rep for a whisky distillery outside Montrose on a selling trip to Wales. This had been his last stop before returning home to his wife, Sandi, and daughter, Morag, aged 6. His wallet was missing along with a watch. The police were treating it as robbery so they knew as much as we did. I exited the site and sat back, wondering what Thomas Hamilton had seen on the other side, when he was dead. Was it the same as what I experienced when I died? If we went on resurrecting people I'd have a chance to find out.

The thought unsettled me and I decided to go walkabout. Owen was recalibrating one of his analysis machines for want of anything better to do. I confirmed with him that we would still look for a Weevil for his study before standing behind Toshiko and watching her shuffling through programs like there was no tomorrow – she is fast - and never pressing the wrong key which I do all the time. I remarked on this, speculating that it's because she's got smaller fingers but she was having none of it, claiming that I just needed to learn to type. She's probably right. Had a chat with Suzie about the Glove and agreed we'd try it again when a suitable victim came our way. She thought there was a correlation between the trauma suffered at death and her success with the Glove so murder victims would be the ideal subjects.

Having done my duty as a boss to these three, I allowed myself a trip to the Tourist Office to check on Ianto. I checked the CCTV feed on my side of the secret door and saw Ianto helping a couple of students with huge backpacks. He had a map out and was tracing a route for them and looked very professional. They left five minutes later with the map, a free bus timetable and four postcards and a toy Welsh dragon they had bought. I was grinning as I let myself through the door.

"Are we making money by having this place open?" I asked, moving up to lean on the counter in front of him.

"Twenty four pounds and change this morning," he replied with a small smile.

"Great. We need something to pay for the electricity."

"I don't think we'll ever earn that much. Did you want something, sir?" He raised an eyebrow and I felt my knees go all wobbly. Good job I was leaning on the counter.

"Just checking you're okay."

"Fine, thanks." He grinned more widely. "It's like playing shops."

"Little things please little minds."

"And little britches won't fit big behinds," he continued.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I straightened up, twisting round to see my rear end. I'm very proud of my butt and keep it in good shape, have even been known to do a few exercises to keep it firm. "You may wish to know that this butt has won awards. Rear of the Year no less." That was back … forward … IN … 5094 and I was still proud of the accolade.

"Really?" He didn't sound convinced which hurt until I saw the twinkle in his eye. This boy was devious.

"It'll be lunchtime soon," I said, changing the subject. "You want to order something?"

"Okay. I'll shut up shop when it arrives and come down."

"Good." I leant over the counter so I was close to his ear. "Because I want to play shops with you later," I whispered. He blushed like a schoolboy which I find so funny. He is no slouch in bed, always willing to try something new, so why he gets embarrassed just talking about it is beyond me.

Behind me the outer door opened and a small woman poked her head round the door. "Are you open?" she asked in a melodious Welsh accent.

"We certainly are. Come right on in." I invited, holding the door open for her. "My colleague here is always ready with a helping hand." Ianto's blush deepened.

"How can I help you?" he asked her. I stood back and played with the little Welsh dragon toys and watched him in action. He was great, found the information she wanted and gave her directions. He didn't get her to buy anything which was a shame but she left happy.

"Another satisfied customer," I said as I shut the door after her. "But then you always give great satisfaction."

"Don't you think you ought to get back to work, sir?" he said pointedly, his face still a little pink.

"I suppose."

He opened the secret door and as I passed him he said, "That'll be three pounds fifty."

"What?"

"For the dragon. Three pounds fifty." He nodded to the toy I was holding.

"You have got to be kidding!"

"No. Three pounds fifty please, sir."

I threw the thing at him and went through the door to the sound of his laughter. It was a lovely sound and I hoped I'd hear it a lot more often from now on. He seemed to be back on track after the horror of Canary Wharf and losing Lisa but he'd had a nightmare the night before, one he obviously didn't remember when he woke up so I'd not mentioned it. I hoped playing shops would help him over the trauma.

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Nineteen

That afternoon was supposed to be quiet with no predicted Rift openings, so after lunch the four of us – Suzie had left – got on with ordinary tasks. Ianto shut up the Tourist Office and was cleaning up and checking the equipment boxes. I was stuck on the phone to the PM for an hour. That man can talk for ages about absolutely nothing but I was interested in some information he let slip about a UNIT operation so I let him ramble on in hopes of getting him to tell me more. Owen went to the hospital where one of his contacts had reported something odd discovered during an autopsy. Apparently a woman who had died of a brain haemorrhage was found to have a non-human organ in her chest. It sounded like a Rethol, a parasite that usually doesn't damage their human host; maybe this one just got unlucky and picked a sick one.

Toshiko was working quietly. If I had a favourite she would be mine - for work reasons only, of course - as she just gets on with things and doesn't bother me unless necessary. I don't think she's been a scrap of trouble since the moment I came across her in the UNIT detention centre. That was a hole. I reckon she'd have gone mad if I hadn't found her when I did: a brain like hers needs stimulation. She was waiting at the office door when I finally got off the phone wearing her 'I've found something' expression.

"Jack, do you remember when Suzie tagged a Orilical in St David's Centre but it got away?"

"Vaguely. Why?"

"I've found it. It's living in a flat on St Mary's Terrace." She grinned at me, "Shall we go and spoil its day?"

I hesitated. I had hoped for an afternoon in the Hub so I could send her and Owen home early and enjoy a little fraternisation with Ianto. If we went out after the Orilical it could take hours to sort out the paperwork. But if we didn't get it now, it would probably move on and then we'd back to square one. "Okay, get the spray." I turned and yelled across at Ianto who stood near his desk amidst the equipment boxes. "Ianto, Tosh and I are going out. Owen should be back any time." The doctor had called a few minutes earlier to say he was on his way back from the hospital with the Rethol.

"Okay." He smiled then went back to his work. I'd like to have lingered but Toshiko already had her jacket on and the box with the spray in her hands so I had no excuse. Five minutes later we were in the SUV on our way to the city.

"Everything's okay with you and Ianto I see," she said, looking up from her scanner.

"We've made up, if that's what you mean."

"Yes, so I saw when I checked the CCTV this morning." She had her head down again, looking at the readouts. "I deleted it before Owen could get his hands on it."

"Thanks." I am going to have to do something about the CCTV if Ianto and I continue to use the Hub as our personal playground. "You got any idea when Owen's going to stop picking on Ianto?"

"Why ask me?" she retorted, very defensive. Had I hit a nerve?

"Because everyone confides in you, Tosh. You're everyone's friend." I smiled at her and she seemed mollified.

"Oh. No, I don't know. Owen always digs at people's weaknesses, until they stand up to him. It's his way of testing them." She paused and looked out of the windscreen for a moment, evidently in thought. "Ianto confuses Owen."

"How?" We were stuck at traffic lights so I looked across at her. She is a quiet and unobtrusive member of the group but she sees and understands what's going on around her better than the rest of us.

She grinned. "He doesn't fight back, well not how Owen expects anyway. He likes us to argue with him, to shout and swear but Ianto never does. His calm way of continuing as if nothing is wrong is driving Owen up the wall. If it wasn't for the instant coffee, it would look like Ianto doesn't care."

I thought about this as I went through the junction and turned right. "Yeah, I can see that would irritate Owen. But if you think it's getting out of hand, you'll let me know?"

"Okay. It's the block of flats on the left two hundred metres ahead. You should be able to park outside." She was peering out at the buildings on the left, her mind now on the Orilical.

I parked on the verge between a couple of bollards which I think were supposed to stop me – fat chance of that. Toshiko and I walked to the flats, a four storey purpose built block, and I let us in. My lock opener proved that sometimes something useful does come through the Rift. The Orilical was on the top floor so we climbed the stairs, past the closed and unwelcoming doors of the other flats. I used to find this odd. On Boeshane, we all relied on one another for survival and there was a real sense of community. Doors were left open and passers-by encouraged to enter and enjoy some hospitality. Wherever you were in the community there was always a meal and a smiling face, which was great for kids like me who could end up a long way from home when hunger struck.

"Let's do it," I said as we stood outside flat 4C. I knocked politely and heard movement inside. The door opened a moment or two later and I stuck my foot by the jamb, I was not going to be caught out with that old trick.

"Can I help you?" said the most gorgeous blonde I'd seen in a very long time. She had long hair cascading over her shoulders, a flawless complexion and big wide, green eyes on top of an impressive chest. Her waist was tiny and her legs long. Like I said she was gorgeous and that was what gave the game away. How many women of her quality were going to be shacked up in a place like this?

"You certainly can," I replied, putting my shoulder to the door and pushing it open while at the same time getting an arm around her waist and pushing her backwards. Sounds complicated but I've practiced it enough to get it perfect every time.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she protested.

Behind me I heard the front door close and sensed Toshiko move up beside us. "This is the one," she said, looking up from the scanner.

"Who are you?" protested the blonde again.

"Torchwood."

That had the usual reaction and she suddenly went wild, flailing in all directions in an attempt to get loose. I hung on to her and turned so that Toshiko could spray her face. It takes a moment or two to work so I kept hold of the woman, which was no hardship as she was soft and pliable in all the right places. Amazing how Orilical can mimic humans so easily. Only two things give them away; they make themselves too perfect and the nub of their auditory canal protrudes out of the back of their neck. As the blonde went limp in my arms, Toshiko lifted the luscious hair and there was the nub on the neck.

It took an hour to check through the flat and collect up everything that was alien. Toshiko was already planning her cover story. She's the best at these, never goes overboard, doing just enough to be believable. Carrying a small case containing the bits and bobs from the flat, Toshiko led the way downstairs. I followed with the Orilical over my shoulder in a fireman's lift. There was only one dodgy moment when a guy passed us on the stairs but after one glance he looked away and ignored us. That would never have happened on Boeshane, we'd have been stopped and questioned. Actually, we would have been on this little planet too up to thirty years' ago. People weren't afraid of being attacked then so they'd challenge strange goings-on in their neighbourhood but not now. Shame.

It was strangely quiet when we got back to the Hub, just Myfanwy wheeling above us. I dumped the Orilical in the cells and on the way back walked past the archives expecting to find Ianto. He wasn't there. He wasn't in his room either. That was the point at which I got worried and ran back up to the work main level.

"Tosh, check the CCTV for Ianto. I can't find him."

"What?!" she looked startled but only for a moment. She tapped at the keyboard in front of her. "He's not in the Hub, there's only us and the creatures in the cells." She was still tapping away. "He left, forty two minutes ago." On one of her screens she had the CCTV images of him leaving the Tourist Office and running – great action – up Stuart Street.

"Where the hell is he going?" I asked of no one in particular. "Track him." All my worst fears came to the surface. He had left us. For several minutes all kinds of possibilities passed through my mind but over it all I felt a great sense of loss and betrayal at the thought that he might have been using me. Luckily for my sanity, Toshiko had been busy doing her job.

"He's in Grangetown, with Owen." She looked at me, her expression as surprised as mine. The CCTV was blurry but the two men were by the Channel View Leisure Centre, half hidden by a power sub-station.

Belatedly realising I could have raised Ianto on the comms I opened it now. "Ianto, Owen, what's going on?"

"_In a minute, Jack,"_ came from Owen, breathing heavily. For a moment, just one weak moment, I imagined him and Ianto getting hot and heavy together before I dismissed it from my mind. _"Not there, you idiot,"_ we heard him yell, presumably at Ianto.

"_I'm doing my best,"_ came from Ianto over Owen's comms. His voice was tight as if he was speaking through clenched teeth.

"_Yeah, well concentrate or you'll be lunch. Now, we'll try again. Aargh!" _The link went dead and Toshiko and I bent to look more closely at the CCTV. Neither man was in view now.

"Ianto, what's happening?" I demanded, not sure whether to head out to help or stay put. "Ianto!?"

"_Please don't shout, sir, I can hear you very well,"_ came his measured tones. _"We seem to have captured a Weevil but before it was fully contained it lashed out at Owen. He's bleeding rather badly." _

"Owen, how bad is it?" asked Toshiko preparing to go into full Florence Nightingale mode.

"_He can't answer, Tosh. His earpiece is damaged." _Ianto seemed calm and in control. _"I'm going to take him to the hospital if you can come and collect the Weevil, sir."_

"I'm on my way," I said, running down the steps.

I drove even faster than normal which is saying something and I was parked at the Centre in five minutes. A Weevil was lying on the ground hooded and manacled to a railing. There was plenty of blood on the ground: if it all came from Owen Ianto had done right to get him to a hospital. I shoved the Weevil in the back of the SUV. It was out for the count and I decided to swing round to the hospital to check on Owen before taking it back to the Hub. In A&E I was directed to one of the curtained-off cubicles where a pale faced Owen was lying on the bed as a doctor worked on cleaning up the right side of his face. Bloodstained dressings were everywhere. Ianto was standing at the foot of the bed, blood smeared on his face and suit which also had a rip in the knee. I joined him.

"Doctor, what's the damage?" I asked.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing me up and down even as he irrigated the wounds on Owen's face.

"Our boss," said Owen managing to sound disparaging. I was relieved, there can't be much wrong with him.

"Oh, the ringmaster. Dr Harper has three strange gashes, one quite deep. I'll put stitches in that one but the others don't need it. He says his tetanus shot is up to date so that's fortunate." The doctor dropped another piece of bloody cotton wool in a dish. "He'll need to take antibiotics to stop any infection."

"I'll make sure he does."

"And next time," continued the doctor, "make better arrangements for the transport of the animals." He had turned away, starting to sew up Owen, so he didn't notice my confused look.

Owen grinned at me with the half of his face that had not been anaesthetised. "I told you we should send the lions by train, boss" he said with a knowing wink.

"Oh, I don't think we can blame him," said Ianto smoothly with an absolutely straight face. "He didn't know Leo would get a splinter in his paw."

I stood looking from one to the other as they continued to discuss the finer points of circus management, their lame cover story. They fed off one another and the lies got more and more outrageous as they began to enjoy themselves. Of course I was the butt of a lot of their jibes but I didn't mind; these two were getting on together for the first time in days. Only a little while later, Owen was all sewn up and discharged with a prescription for antibiotics that he promptly screwed up and stuffed in a pocket; our drugs cabinet would make any hospital pharmacist drool.

"All right, you two, you've had your fun," I said when we were standing outside the hospital entrance. "How did you get here?"

"He drove my car. It better be in one piece, teaboy." Owen tried to glower at Ianto but couldn't with his half frozen face.

"The only damage it sustained was from where you bled all over the upholstery. I'll drive the car, sir, I don't think I'm up to trying that thing yet." He was looking at the SUV when he said this, insulting my pride and joy.

"Hey, watch it!" I protested.

"I'll go with him," said Owen, meaning Ianto. "See you back at the Hub." They went off together still bickering.

During the drive back to base, I called Toshiko and confirmed that Owen was fine and on his way in. I was waiting for them at the garage; the Weevil was heavy and I didn't see why Ianto shouldn't help get it inside. We manhandled it in between us, Owen hovering close as he intended this one to be his test subject. He insisted we put it in an empty cell block, give it decent bedding and leave food and water handy for when it woke up. Only when his new charge was settled to his satisfaction would he sit on the sofa and rest. Toshiko, of course, was hovering nearby offering to wipe his brow and run around after him.

"So what happened out there really?" I asked. We had persuaded Owen to take the first of the antibiotics and he was washing them down with one of Ianto's delicious coffees. It seems they'd made up enough for that particular punishment to cease.

"I was back here when one of those trackers we put in the Weevils finally showed up so I went out to get it," said Owen, taking a sip of the coffee. "Thought I could do it alone but it was a bit antsy. I didn't want to harm it so I got teaboy here to come and help."

"And no one thought to call us?" The last thing I need is my team going off ill-prepared for something like this. Weevils are dangerous when cornered and Owen could have been killed. Worse than that, Ianto could have been killed!

"We could handle it," protested Owen. "Right?" he said to Ianto.

"Just about. Actually, sir, I think it was your call that distracted Owen and led to the injury." Ianto was standing beside Toshiko's desk looking cool and calm. If it wasn't for the bloody suit you'd think he'd done nothing more dangerous than filing papers all afternoon.

"That's right," agreed Owen.

"Somehow I knew this would all be my fault." How they manage to blame me all the time is quite astounding. "First, Owen, you shouldn't have gone out there on your own. Second, Ianto, your job is here in the Hub. You're not trained for anything else."

"Then you'd better bloody train him," said Owen with finality, putting down his empty coffee mug. "And now I'm going home." I let him go, he needed to rest. Toshiko drove him, as she had done barely a week ago when he'd bashed his head. I expect she'll hang around his place for a while.

That left me and Ianto, alone at last.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty

Being alone in the Hub with Ianto should have been fun. I had all sorts of 'activities' planned to occupy our time – most of them to do with his comment that morning about playing shops. I had so much that I was sure he'd want to buy! - but I didn't get a chance to do any of them. My handsome Welshman spent ages washing up and sorting out the kitchen before going round the place with a black sack collecting up rubbish. He didn't need to do any of that - the place looked perfectly tidy to me – and I started to feel he was trying to avoid me. Testing the theory, I left the office and wandered round after him, just staying a few paces away and watching what he was doing. He ignored me, he just bloody ignored me.

"Ianto, are you avoiding me?" I asked eventually. We were by the overflow pool from which he was picking out the frozen cubes of Myfanwy's poop using a net on a pole. Our guard dog's aim had gone wide of her usual deposit area.

"No, sir. I'm doing my job." He looked at me, his face expressionless. "Perhaps you should do yours rather than follow me around."

"Supervising the employees is my job," I replied, moving in smoothly to stand close. He didn't move away. He's a hard one to read but I was pretty sure he wasn't mad at me. "Are you okay? You weren't hurt this afternoon, were you?"

He was silent, looking away for a moment or two before returning his gaze to me. "I was scared," he said finally.

"Good." I got a little bit closer to him.

"Good?"

"Yep. Being scared means you'll be careful. I don't want any dead heroes around here." I ran my hand down his face, feeling the slight stubble. "Want to talk about it?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But not now, I want to finish this." He straightened up and squared his shoulders and the connection was broken, at least for the moment. I was never going to get him to talk by forcing the issue so I let my hand drop.

"Okay. Come find me when you're done."

I went down to the vaults wondering if anyone had fed and watered the inmates. I rely on Suzie to look after these details, as I rely on her for so much else. She was a find and I smiled when I thought how close I had come to losing her to MI5 and Yvonne Hartman who were sniffing around when I made her a better offer. There weren't enough people with the unique skills we needed so competition was fierce but Suzie's combination of engineering and psychology degrees was so rare the others had hesitated to recruit her; she would have been hard to fit into their rigid organisational structures. For me, of course, she was perfect; I need people who can turn their hand to anything and who think outside the box. The fact that Suzie is also an organisational whizz was a bonus.

In the vaults, I looked in on the Weevil and saw she was awake and squatting in a corner quietly. In the next block, the Orilical was sitting on the shelf bed in the first cell. The illusion of human form was wearing off now it had been separated from its power source. That was upstairs on Toshiko's desk awaiting cataloguing while this creature returned to its natural form. Something else for Suzie to study, she was the one who found it initially anyway and, who knows, it might keep her mind off the Glove for a while. Her interest in all things alien is commendable even if she does keep bugging me about using the technology we find to 'help mankind'. No matter how often or how patiently I try to explain she just doesn't take no for an answer. And the answer has to be 'no', I have to protect the timeline.

There was no sign of Ianto when I got back to the main level so I did a quick check on the CCTV. He was in the shower, I could see the steam, so I settled down to wait for him to emerge. And there he was, pink and beautiful like that picture of the Birth of Venus. He looked damned good. My groin twitched uncomfortably and I did wonder, for just a minute or two, about walking in on him 'accidentally' but thought better of it. He wasn't in the mood and we had all night. When he had dried himself and started to dress I forced myself to turn to my desk and the work there. To my surprise and delight there wasn't much so I got through it quickly. I was checking the e-mails when footsteps outside warned me Ianto was back.

"Would you like a coffee?" he asked, standing just inside the door wearing the snug jeans and polo shirt. The damp hair and stubble made him look younger than usual and I understood why he preferred the suits: they gave him more authority.

"I don't know. Want to go out? Meal or a club maybe?"

"Not really in the mood, thanks."

"Want to talk about it?" I was sitting back looking up at him. The boy was troubled about something.

"Yeah." He came forward and sat down, crossing his legs neatly.

"The Weevil?" I hazarded. "It really is okay to be scared. We all are." Well, not me so much. When you know you can't die there's not much reason to be scared.

He was nodding. "I realise that. I just … I just wondered if you'd want me to do that again. Go out like that."

"It's up to you, Ianto. Your job is here, in the Hub, but we're a small team and there may be times we could use you out there." I leant forward on the desk. "But Owen was stupid to call on you today, he knew you weren't ready for it."

"It moved so quickly," he said quietly, almost to himself. "One minute it was under control and the next there was blood everywhere." It may have been a trick of the light but he looked pale.

"Weevils are fast, that's why we have to be careful and go in prepared for anything." I paused but he didn't reply. "Did it remind you of …" I didn't say 'Canary Wharf', I didn't need to. His hands were shaking and he was definitely paler now. I was round his side of the desk and had my arms round him, holding him close. "It's okay, Ianto, it's okay."

"It was the blood. There … there was so much … in that room where I found Lisa."

"I understand. Look, you did a great job this afternoon no matter how you were feeling." He pushed me away, not violently but determined to get out of my arms. I let him go, hunkering down by his side.

"It wasn't until … until we got back here that it hit me. And now … I should have helped him more, helped Owen. Prevented it happening." He looked at me then with such old and haunted eyes and I was reminded of when we'd talked almost exactly a week ago. Was it really only a week?

"We talked about this before, Ianto. There was nothing you could have done to prevent the Cybermen taking over Canary Wharf and Owen was stupid this afternoon. He should have waited for Tosh and me to help him. Both times you did all that you could, more than you should have been asked to." I had a hand on his forearm and could feel the tension rippling through him. "You don't need to go out in the field again."

"Thank you." He leant towards me then and rested his head on my shoulder. He smelt of Imperial Leather soap and lemon shampoo. We would probably have stayed like that for longer but my leg muscles gave out after some minutes and I had to shift position or fall over. It changed the mood. "I'd rather stay in tonight, if that's okay?" His voice was calm and controlled again.

"Sure. Shall we order in?" I stood up, stretching gratefully.

"I thought I might make a Spanish omelette, if you're interested."

"Always." I smiled after him as he walked back to the kitchen, the one room in the base he had made his own.

I spent the next twenty minutes clearing the e-mails and thinking about what this boy had gone through. Was I doing him a favour keeping him here? With Torchwood he was likely to see a lot more blood and catastrophe than if he had a normal life. But we understood what he had been through and were probably best placed to help. I glanced over and saw him putting cutlery on the coffee table a sure sign the meal was almost ready. As I shut down the PC, I realised it had to be Ianto's call whether he stayed with us or not but it had to be an informed choice.

The omelette and salad was great and the coffee even better. My plans for chatting to him were sidetracked as he wanted to watch TV. The programme was okay and it certainly amused him. I was pleased he'd been able to forget the horror that had come over him and we sat side by side on the sofa for a couple of hours until he turned the TV off. He was in a lighthearted even playful mood then. I have to say that his seduction technique has improved considerably. My quarters were closest so we headed in that direction and had a good time. What am I saying, we had a great time.

Lying beside him, his head on my shoulder, I finally got the opportunity for a word. "Ianto, if you ever feel working here is too much for you, just say. You can leave at any time."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" He rested his chin on my chest and looked at me, serious.

"No, I want you to stay. But you're likely to come across all sorts of aliens and stuff even if you stick close to the Hub. Are you going to be able to deal with that? Do you want to?" I ran a hand through his sweaty hair – it had been an energetic session – and was pleased he was thinking carefully.

"Jack, before we met I was angling to get a job here," he said, looking down, his hand idly playing with my nipple. "I wanted to get Lisa in here to … well, to make her human again. I was following you. It was stupid, I should have known you'd be too clever for me to have got away with it, but I was desperate. You've been so forgiving and I want to stay. Please let me." He turned his baby blue eyes on me and I drowned in them.

"If it's what you want then of course you can. I'd miss you if you left." I kissed his forehead. "But you'll need weapons training, even the Hub can be dangerous. Have you done any?"

"Just an orientation course. How to hold a gun and fire it." He smiled. "I managed to hit the target which was more than some of them."

"Good start. I'll give you a lesson or two in the next few days." I was looking forward to that. I had my own special training technique developed over many years. "Do you want to stay living here? You've still got your flat." It was difficult to ask but he had no need to stay on site all the time.

He thought about this, looking into the distance, for a few minutes. "I prefer it here, I feel safer and there aren't any memories of Lisa. But the room's a bit bare. Could I get a decent bed and some other stuff?" My heart did a little flip of joy.

"Sure. Make it a big bed," I added suggestively, kissing his lips.

Somehow we had the energy for another shag and it was an hour before we finally slept. I stayed with him all that night although I only slept for a few hours. He was quiet, snoring lightly and was a warm and comforting presence in the bed. It was relaxing to just lie there, listening to his breathing and to hold him. There aren't many men or women that have given me that feeling of peace. I was insanely pleased that I had found it again.

He was awake when I had to leave the bed and go up to check on a alert. My good mood fled when I saw the negative Rift spike. Back in my quarters I grabbed clothes and got dressed quickly. "Sorry, Ianto, I have to go out." He was sitting up in the bed looking at me carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"The Rift." I managed a smile for him but it was hard.

"Let me call Owen and Tosh," he offered, legs over the side of the bed and hands grabbing his own clothes.

"No! No," I said more quietly, "this is something I have to deal with alone." I bent down and kissed him, hard and tongue probing.

"What is it? What's wrong, Jack?" He was sitting on the edge of the bed now, looking up at me and I recognised the look of puzzled understanding from when I had died. This boy knew when I was troubled and upset better than anyone else. "Please tell me."

"I can't," I replied softly. "Trust me, Ianto, you don't want to know." We kissed again and then I was climbing the ladder to the office. I had the Webley strapped round my waist and the mobile in my pocket when he appeared through the hatch in just jeans. He held out my greatcoat for me and there was just the slightest pressure as he smoothed down the shoulders.

"Be careful, Jack."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." With a final kiss, I was off, striding through the Hub to the garage doors and the SUV. I looked back just as I rounded the corner and he was standing where I had left him, looking after me.

I used the drive to Comeston on the other side of Penarth to put up my emotional barriers again. This was going to be hard, it always was, and coming straight from bed with Ianto I was too open to other people's feelings. Mobile in hand – to hell with the regulations about talking and driving at the same time – I called Wynn Hughes and ordered the boat to be readied. Next I called Helen and told her I'd be bringing in another patient. Then I just drove, blocking out feelings.

It was a woman, about thirty years old, and she was in a bad way. I picked her up, wrapped her in a blanket and drove fast back to Penarth marina and Wynn. The woman was keening in terror or horror or both and the sound was throbbing through my bones. I sedated her. I didn't like having to do it but I had to keep her quiet for the boat trip. Wynn had seen me arrive and was waiting patiently in the cockpit, his back to me. He willingly ferried me across and back but never wanted to see the people I took over to the island. When I was safe aboard with the woman, Wynn cast off and we chugged out of the marina and into the mouth of the Severn. I sat in the back, shielding the woman from the worst of the chill wind off the water, feeling numb both physically and mentally.

That was how I continued to feel once we'd landed and I carried the woman up the boardwalk to the waiting attendants. I so wanted to turn round and go back straightaway, to go back to Ianto's waiting arms, but I couldn't leave Helen and these attendants to shoulder my burden. Resolutely, I followed them up the meandering path and put all other thoughts out of my mind.

* * *


	21. Chapter 21

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter 21

Watching Helen and her team care for the woman had been harrowing but I'd done it. I owed both Helen and her carers and the woman that much. I also owed the latter a name. There had been no identification on her so I'd sent a photograph and fingerprints to Toshiko to run through the databases and it had come back as Felicity Warner, twenty nine, a bank teller from Swansea who had been missing from her home - taken by the Rift - for four years leaving behind a husband and two children. I had got away from Flat Holm as soon as I could, after discussing day to day matters with Helen and looking in on some of the patients, the ones that were able to function a little, and it was close to midday when I got back to the Hub.

Music was playing, some easy listening tune so it must have been Toshiko's choice. She looked up from her desk as I appeared in the work area. Her eager smile faded when she saw me so I must have looked grim.

"She's dead?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's her but the family can't have the body. What do you suggest as a cover?" I stood behind her and was not aware of Ianto until the greatcoat was lifted from my shoulders and a mug of coffee pressed into my hand. He went off without a word.

"There was a serial killer who died in Cardiff prison last month, John Grayson. He was operating in Swansea at the time Felicity Warner disappeared and the police wondered at the time if he had been responsible." She was tapping furiously at her keyboard and images appeared on her screen; arrest photos of Grayson and of his nine victims. "I can arrange for evidence that he murdered her to be found. No need to produce a body, three of his known victims were never found. The police will be keen to close the case and the family will be able to grieve." She stopped what she was doing and looked round at me. "Okay?"

"Do it." I looked round and saw Ianto at his desk in the corner, head down working, but there was no sign of Owen. "Did Owen make it in?"

"Uh huh. He's down with the Weevil."

I may be paranoid but it was clear Toshiko did not want to look at me, was hiding something. Well, that made two of us because I'd not told anyone about the facility on Flat Holm. That was my own personal cross to bear. Retreating to my office, I shut the door and leaned against it for several long minutes. Finally, I went to my desk and reached for the whisky bottle, put a large shot in the remaining coffee and downed it in one. The heat travelled down to my stomach and made me at least feel alive.

Flat Holm island, a tiny pimple of land equidistant between the coasts of Wales and England and now home to some of the most damaged people on the planet. Contrary to popular opinion the Rift works both ways, it gives and takes. And sometimes it spits back what it's taken. Human beings were never made to travel through the Rift unprotected and those that come back are damaged in ways it would be impossible to describe. Some damage is physical but that's not the worst, worse is the mental trauma which strips people of their reason. The first person I came across like this was back in 1924, a young man who was kept in the vaults until he managed to hang himself after five years in Torchwood's tender care. There was a string of them after that, one or two a decade, who resided in the cells, existing as little more than beasts. They were cared for, after a fashion, and studied but no one tried to cure them. There is still no cure but at least now they get nursing and remedial care and some of them respond. It's better than nothing.

"Sir? I was going to order lunch." Ianto had the door partly open, standing with his head through the gap.

"Not for me."

He retreated out of the office and I went down to my quarters. I suppose I had been a bit short with the boy but I couldn't stomach food or company at that moment. Lying on the bed, I realised the bedding had been changed and the room tidied – Ianto this morning, I presumed – and it looked as good as a hole in the ground could look. On the side was something new, a small toy Welsh dragon. I was smiling as I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep, anything to forget.

The Rift alarm woke me from a restless doze in which deformed creatures were attacking me from all sides. I fought my way back to consciousness and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands before going back topside. Owen and Toshiko were standing at her desk while Ianto was hovering midway between them and my office. I guessed he was in two minds about disturbing me, he certainly looked it.

"What is it?" I asked. As I passed Ianto I put a hand on his arm - half apology, half reassurance - and was rewarded with a smile.

"Arkans," said Owen shortly, turning to look at me. The disgust was evident in his expression. "Bloody things."

"Where are they and how many?"

"Lisvane, near the reservoir. And I think it's just two of them," replied Toshiko without looking up.

"Okay. Owen, how are you feeling? You up to a dunking?" I smiled at him. The Arkans are mostly water and when they're taken down we get wet.

"I'm all right." He looked it. He had a good colour and the dressing on the Weevil gashes was smaller than the one from the day before; he'd obviously been doctoring himself. "Let's go get 'em." He was reaching for his leather jacket and Glock as he spoke.

"I don't know, Jack. Maybe Owen should stay here and me go with you," said Toshiko anxiously.

"Will you stop fussing!" protested the doctor, grabbing an equipment box which were now, thanks to Ianto, always stocked and ready to go.

"Your gun," said Ianto from behind me, holding out the holster. My greatcoat was over his arm. I took both and got ready to depart, marvelling at the boy's anticipation. It really was like having a butler, like Alfred in the Batman stories. For the first time that day I grinned.

"Ianto, you are a marvel," I told him as I headed out after Owen. "Talk us in, Tosh."

Now, I know I shouldn't say this but going out with Owen was more relaxing than having one of the others with me. There was less chat for a start. Suzie and Toshiko always want to go over what we're going to do, and then have a fall-back plan and a last resort after that. They worry a problem to death whereas Owen and I exchanged a couple of grunts and we knew what we were going to do. And, for once, it worked like a charm. The Arkans were crossing South Rise, a pleasant cul-de-sac with big houses that overlooked the two reservoirs, like they were out for a stroll. Being Sunday afternoon there was no one around, not even a man washing his car or cutting the lawn. Owen and I pulled up alongside the Arkans, pointed out the consequences of them polluting the reservoirs – their favourite trick – and persuaded them to return to their ship and depart for more amenable planets. We waited until they'd gone, a streak of light in the sky that made me a bit jealous, and then headed back to the Hub.

Owen gave Toshiko a heads up on what had happened as we drove back. When he'd finished, he turned to me. "So, Harkness, where were you all morning?"

"Out." I had no intention of telling him although, of all the team, it was Owen's help and skills I need most at Flat Holm. He's an intuitive doctor and tenacious enough to search for something, anything, that could help those people.

"Fuck, you're a secretive son of a bitch. The teaboy was worried about you, wanted us to track you down. Had your mobile switched off, didn't you?"

"I had to be somewhere. Now, can we change the subject?" I concentrated on my driving.

"Huh! Just don't start two timing the boy, he doesn't deserve it." Owen crossed his arms and stared out of the windscreen.

My mouth fell open. "Since when have you cared about Ianto!?"

"He saved my arse yesterday. And, yes, I know I was stupid to get him to help me but he still did it. He's got balls."

"I can vouch for that."

"Ah, jeez, Jack, keep your sordid private life to yourself!" I laughed, grateful to have something to laugh about. Owen would never change but it seemed he had accepted Ianto as one of the team.

It was around five o'clock when we got back to the Hub. The music was still playing and Toshiko and Ianto were at their desks where we had left them. Both looked up when we came in but neither said anything. The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. If I didn't know them both and trust them I'd think they'd been plotting a coup. As it was, I decided they'd merely been talking about me. At the bottom of the steps up to the work area, I stopped and considered.

"Tosh, any more activity predicted?" I asked.

"No," she answered after a moment spent checking the program.

"Okay. How about we go out for a drink and something to eat?"

"You and me? Is this a date?" she asked innocently. She can be a tease.

"Noooo, all of us."

"Bit early, Jack," put in Owen. "Everywhere will be dead this time on a Sunday. But I'm up for it later."

Toshiko was nodding her head. "Me too."

I turned to look across at Ianto, sitting at his remote desk. "Ianto?"

"Okay." He smiled at me, one of those little ones.

"So, teaboy, get us a coffee to keep us going. Chop, chop," said Owen, now seated at his desk. "If I've got to write a bloody report on these Arkans I'll need something to keep me awake."

"Good idea," I agreed.

We put in a couple of hours' solid work before we decamped to a favourite haunt of Owen's. Loud music, dancing and so dark away from the dance floor I could barely see where I was going. But the beer was good, the food tasty and the flesh on display was young and firm. Owen and I appreciated the girls barely out of their teens in skimpy tops and skirts prancing around. The boys were toned and in shape too and Toshiko and I compared notes on some of those in skin tight T-shirts and tight trousers. We both liked one in particular who was dressed all in leather. Only Ianto seemed unmoved by the display, sipping his beer and staying quiet.

"Come on, Tosh, let's dance."

I grabbed her hand and pulled her after me onto the dance floor. She protested a bit but once I'd got her in my arms for a smooch around to some slowish tune she calmed down and followed my lead. It was fun and I needed that very much after the day I'd had. I passed her on to Owen after that first dance. I like to throw them together from time to time and it was good to see them bopping around – not as close as she and I had been but at least she was getting to be with him one-on-one.

"Want to dance?" I asked Ianto, glancing towards where he was a blur in the red light from the candle that was the only illumination on the table.

"No."

"Aw, come on." I leant forward ready to stand.

"No, Jack." This was said with such force I sat back in my chair.

"You're no fun."

"Nor are you when you disappear and don't tell us where you're going or what you're doing." He'd leant forward so I could see him clearly, challenging me to reply.

"There's a lot more to this job than you've seen so far," I began only to be cut off.

"Tosh and Owen had no idea where you were either. And they told me you do this a lot, just go out and no one can find you for hours. They've worked with you for years so why don't they know about this other part of your job?" His gaze was piercing, pinning me to my chair.

"Because it's my job, not theirs. You if anyone should know how Torchwood works." I was leaning forward too, arms on the table and we couldn't have been more than a foot apart over the table. I could feel the heat from the candle on my face. "There are some things it's better no one else knows."

He made a disgusted sound. "You're no better than Yvonne Hartman! Keeping secrets all the time. They were asking me – me who's only known you five minutes! – about you, wanted to know what you'd let slip in the sack. They have no idea who you are or where you come from."

"They know as much as they need to."

"Bullshit. Keeping secrets doesn't make working for you any easier, you know. Did you consider what would have happened if there had been a major Rift opening this morning? Tosh and Owen couldn't have coped alone."

"They'd have called in Suzie."

"They should have been able to rely on you! You're the leader of this team, or you're supposed to be." His tone told me just what he thought of my leadership skills.

"And as leader it's my decision who does what around here. Ever think that I might be protecting them by looking after business alone?" That surprised him, obviously he'd not thought of that possibility. I pressed the advantage. "There are some things that no one should have to deal with."

He was silent for a long moment, regarding me closely. "So you do them."

"Yeah."

"What if something had happened to you, then? You could have needed help and no one knew where you were." His tone had become more reasonable as he changed his argument around.

"I can manage."

"You're not invincible, Jack, you could get hurt." He reached a hand and put it on my wrist. "I was worried about you."

He said this with real feeling and I felt a heel for keeping quiet about Flat Holm. But I had many secrets – professional and personal – and I wasn't about to share them with this boy no matter how tempting it might be. I did want to protect the team from some of the worst aspects of the work and, of them all, it was Ianto I wanted to protect the most.

"There was no need to be but … thank you all the same." I smiled and was pleased when he returned it. "Now, how about that dance?"

"No, I have two left feet." He let go of my wrist and sat back, picking up his beer glass.

"Well I have two right ones, so that's okay."

I reached across the table and grabbed his arm. Before he knew what I was intending, I had him on his feet and halfway to the dance floor, beer glass still in his hand. This I took from him and dumped on an empty table before dragging him close and holding him pressed against me. The music was loud with a beat but other than that I didn't really notice. These days as long as you're moving you can do anything on a dance floor and no one cares. We swayed around to three songs, Ianto relaxing in my arms after initially resisting. I twirled him round once or twice and he even giggled in my ear. He must have had more to drink than I had noticed.

We returned to the table after twenty minutes or so dancing to find Owen had got another round in. He and Tosh had been watching us – of course – and immediately started to pass comment. Happily, Ianto didn't mind their teasing and just sipped at his beer. Toshiko was getting tipsy and would soon by nodding off if we let her while Owen was eyeing up the talent, looking for someone to share his bed that night. Why he can't see what's under his nose is beyond me. Not long after that, he went off with a busty blonde and Ianto and I took Toshiko home – she was in no state to drive.

Which left the Welshman and me all alone which was just as I liked it. Ianto appeared to have got over his earlier concerns and we repaired to his room for a much needed shag or two. A pleasant ending to a day that had started badly.

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Two

I left Ianto to sleep and went up to the main level of the Hub. Early mornings are a good time for a snoop around and I checked all the desks, leaving Suzie's until last. At the back of my mind, I was still not sure about the Resurrection Glove and felt I should be more on top of what Suzie was doing with it. Buried under some other stuff, I found her working papers and read them through. She had experimented on mice and rats first, then rabbits and finally stray cats and dogs that had been found dead in the gutter. (For an nation of animal lovers there were a lot of these.) It was all documented and above board and my concerns lessened. Provided I kept her away from the morgue, we would be okay.

At seven, I wandered down for a shower and changed, standing under the hot water for a long time. It was good to wash away my cares and I felt more prepared for the day ahead and whatever it would bring.

"No singing today?" asked Ianto when I emerged from the cubicle. He was in a short dressing gown I'd not seen before and his legs looked great. He was laying out his clothes before taking a shower.

"No, need company for singing." I wrapped my arms round him from behind, hugging him to me, and rested my chin on his shoulder. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks. Did we really dance together last night? In public?"

"We did. And a very good mover you are too." I kissed his ear and let him go, reaching for a towel.

"I must have drunk more than I thought." He raised an eyebrow in my direction, smiled and then dropped the gown and got into the cubicle. A few seconds later he was humming something I didn't recognise.

I didn't wait for him, instead I headed for the main level. The Rift predictor program was indicating activity later in the day and I hoped for something small and easily contained. By the time Ianto came up to join me, I was in the office and wading through more e-mails which is when my mobile rang: Owen.

"_Jack, Tosh is sick. She's been spewing up and looks like death warmed up. Food poisoning I reckon." _

"You're with her?" I was amazed. When we'd left them the night before he had been canoodling with a busty blonde and Toshiko was at her place.

"_She called me, an hour ago. Look, I'm going to put her on. Tell her to stay home."_ There was a pause and then I heard Toshiko's voice.

"_Jack, I think I can make it in."_ She sounded terrible but it was so like her to struggle into work when she'd be better off at home.

"No, Tosh, you go back to bed and get well. We can manage without you. Anything I need to know about?"

"_No. I've got my laptop so I'll –" _

"You will not! You're to rest, Tosh, no working. Do I need to tell Owen to take the laptop away?" It was like talking to a child but it was the best way to treat Toshiko. She needed to be told when to look after herself.

After a heavy sigh she said, _"No." _

"Good. See you when you're better."

More sounds of the phone being handed over and Owen was back. _"I'll get her settled and then come in. Okay?" _

"Yeah, that's fine, Owen. Thanks." I closed the phone and looked up as Ianto entered the office with a mug of coffee in hand. "Thanks, Ianto. Tosh won't be in today, she's not well."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Anything you need me to do?"

"Nah, you're doing enough as it is. Suzie will be in any time and Owen will be here. We'll pick up the slack."

"In that case, I'll nip out and get us some breakfast; the fridge is empty." He smiled and went off. I watched him until he was out of sight. How did we manage before he came? I also realised that this was the first time he had left the Hub and I'd not been worried he'd run off; seems I was really starting to trust him.

Sipping the excellent coffee, I went back to the PC and the e-mails. When I'd dealt with those – a lot were forwarded to the others for action or advice. Why should I have to do all the work? – I looked through the calendar for the week. I don't have many appointments and most I'd prefer to avoid but this week held a special one: Tommy Brockless. With a smile I made a note to get things set up for Friday and thought that was a good reason for Toshiko to get well quickly – she and Tommy had hit it off last year.

The door alarm sounded but it wasn't Ianto, it was Suzie who appeared up the steps and walked towards me. "Hi, Jack. Where is everyone?"

"Ianto's out getting breakfast and Owen will be in soon. Tosh is sick, stomach bug or something, so it'll just be the four of us." I glowed inwardly when I said that, a rush of pleasure at thinking of Ianto as one of the team. "Good weekend?"

"Not bad, thanks." She never said anything more about her time off which suited me. "Want me to go through the police reports and stuff?" This was Toshiko's first job of the day.

"Please. There's a Rift opening predicted for this afternoon but otherwise it's quiet."

"Okay." She waved and was off to her desk.

The rest of the morning was peaceful. After breakfast for the three of us, Ianto went off to the Tourist Office with a big pile of papers for indexing. Suzie went on checking the reports and then, when she realised we'd caught the Orilical, she went down to the cells. Owen made it in around ten thirty with the customary grumbling but after a mug of coffee - which Ianto came down and made for all of us before going back upstairs – he settled down. I had a word with him about Tommy and we agreed what was needed, all of which was in the base. Leaving him to liaise with Ianto about getting it all together, I walked around checking on this and that but really killing time. For the first time in ages I was up to date with the paperwork and there were no messes around the place requiring my attention. I hadn't realised before quite how much time I'd spent on grunt work which Ianto now completed effortlessly.

Looking up, I saw Myfanwy circling above me so I climbed up to check on her. She had been in residence a couple of weeks and appeared to have settled in. The vomit-o-matic was working well, no one had been clobbered with the frozen wastes and her diet of fish and chocolate suited her. In fact, she had been so little trouble that I had almost forgotten she was around. Climbing the last ladder I was high enough to look into her nesting place. The various materials we'd got in had been used to fashion a rough dish-shaped nest that looked fragile but Myfanwy had no competitors or predators to defend against here so I supposed it would be fine for the purpose. We'd have to change it at some point, to avoid smells, but otherwise she seemed very happy. I crouched on the walkway and watched her sitting on the nest, a marvellous if unattractive creature.

Below me, I saw Suzie return from the cells and walk over to Owen. They were very small from my eerie and I couldn't hear what they were saying. Suzie peered into the office so I guessed she was looking for me. I toyed with staying hidden but, in all honesty, I was a bit bored. I made sure I made some noise clambering down so she knew I was on my way. Sure enough, she was waiting at the foot of the last set of steps.

"What were you doing up there?" she asked.

"Checking on Myfanwy. Need me?"

"Yeah. The Orilical has fully reverted. Okay if we keep it for a few days so I can study it a bit longer?"

A natural Orilical is a big slug, about a metre long and half that high. It's intelligent and uses a specially designed power pack to transform itself into a perfect copy of the inhabitants of any planet it lands on. And as the Orilical are searching for a new home they end up all over the place. I'd met them on just about every planet I had ever visited and they always made the same mistake of looking too perfect. They weren't vicious, more insidious. One or two can be contained but when they finish their recce and decide a planet's suitable they call in reinforcements – hundreds of them – and start to take over, forcing out the indigenous life forms. Orilical are a pain in the arse and I would be happy to hand this one on to UNIT.

"Okay, but make sure it doesn't get any power. And I want it gone by the end of Thursday. We have Tommy on Friday." Her face lit up; the soldier boy had won all the female hearts in Torchwood.

"Is it that time all ready? Doesn't seem like a year."

"I know the feeling." And I did. The years slipped by in a twinkling and before I knew it, another had gone and I was still no nearer getting off this ball of dirt. But anytime soon - it had been over a hundred years.

"Hey, Jack, you ought to see this," shouted Owen from his desk. "Something's happening up in London. Bloody hospital's disappeared."

"What?!"

Suzie and I were beside him staring at the screen where a TV news reporter was standing outside a crater where the Royal Hope Hospital had been. Seems there was a torrential rainstorm, centred on the hospital, and then – whoosh! – it disappeared. As I watched, Suzie moved to Toshiko's desk and started running checks, gathering information.

"Looks like it's been vaporised," said Owen, transfixed by the news report. "Damn, I know a couple of the guys that work there."

"Maybe they were off duty," I said. It was odd, but I never thought of any of my team having friends, especially Owen. It was always a shock when they mentioned anyone. "Suzie, what have you got?"

"You are really not going believe this," she said, still tapping away at the keyboard.

"Try me." I took the couple of paces to join her.

"It's been moved … to the moon!" She glanced up at me to see my reaction and I guess I looked stunned. I mean, who the hell would do something like that? "There seem to be some ships heading in the same direction. Don't recognise the signature."

"Let's see it." She brought up the information on a screen. "Judoon."

"You sure?" she queried, double checking the database. "Why would they do this?"

"I'm guessing it's something to do with the Shadow Proclamation." She looked blank. "It's a kind of space police and they can't operate on undeveloped worlds like this one."

"Undeveloped?!" she protested.

"Yep, no space travel outside the home Solar System. You people are backward." I grinned. "Anyway, seems the Judoon want someone who is in that hospital so they moved it. The moon's neutral territory."

"An alien?" asked Owen. He was still at his desk but had been listening in.

"Oh yeah. Start a scan for alien life forms before the hospital was moved and –". My mobile rang and I glanced at the caller ID – Downing Street. "The PM," I said with resignation, straightening up and moving towards the office. "I'll talk to him, you two keep searching for alien signatures around that area and let me know what's going on. See what UNIT are up to as well." The phone was still ringing but I needed to ensure my team knew what to do before I talked to the Prime Minister, who was no doubt panicking.

"They'll all be dead, won't they? The people in the hospital." Owen looked concerned and I rested a hand on his shoulder as I passed him.

"If the Judoon want someone in the building they'll be keeping them alive. Feed me all you find - ASAP."

The next three hours were manic. I sat in the office being fed bits of information from Suzie and Owen and passing it on, suitably edited, to the Prime Minister, Ministry of Defence, Home Office and UNIT. The UN, NASA and CIA were on my back too. At some point, Ianto had come down, seen what was going on and quietly ensured we were fed and given coffee at regular intervals. And then, just when the PM's demands that we do something to recover the hospital were becoming preposterous – does he really think I have a spaceship standing by for crises like this? – the hospital reappeared. It was dumped back in place as if it had never been gone. If it hadn't been for the people who had almost suffocated it might all have been a huge joke. It took another hour on the phone before everyone was satisfied.

Sitting back in my chair I took a deep breath. It was at times like these that I missed Yvonne Hartman and her merry band at Torchwood One. She would have been the one fielding the calls and scanning the heavens and I could have sat on the sidelines and watched it all unfold. I could do without the hassle. Levering myself up, I went to check on the troops. Suzie was still at Toshiko's desk but Owen had disappeared. Ianto was in the kitchen and I hoped he was making more coffee 'cos my throat was sore from all the talking I'd been doing.

"Suzie, any developments?"

"No. The hospital's back and the Judoon have gone." She swung round in the chair to face me. "Are they really the space police?"

"They're part of it. A lot of other races are involved too." Ianto approached with coffee. "Ah, my saviour," I told him as I took the proffered mug.

"It's only coffee, sir." He passed Suzie hers. "If the panic's over, I need to get to the supermarket."

"That's fine." He smiled and went off, a vision in a suit.

"Owen's checking his Weevil downstairs. Are you going to let him keep it?" asked Suzie.

"For now. They're not too much trouble and we ought to find out more about them." I sipped the coffee and felt revitalised. "Send me all the footage you've got on the hospital thing, I'll check it over later."

"Okay. The Rift opening's due in an hour."

"Damn, I'd forgotten about that." After the relatively quiet days we'd been having it was hard to get back up to speed. "Any idea what it'll be?"

She laughed shortly. "Hardly. The damn thing let's through whatever it likes."

"Okay. Let me know when it's imminent."

When the opening came, an hour and ten minutes later, it was blessedly small. Owen and Suzie went off to see what had arrived leaving me in the Hub alone. I was wondering where Ianto was until I got a text to say he had dropped in to check on Toshiko. Nice to know those two have made a connection, they both need a friend.

In the silence, I went back to the TV footage of the incident in London. We had all that which had been shown and stuff which had been edited out so there was masses of it; all the main terrestrial and digital news channels had covered the incident. It had started with rain that fell upwards, a phenomenon that none of the 'experts' could explain, then the hospital just wasn't there any more. I skipped the endless repetition of non-news and went straight to when it had been returned. The hospital staff and patients were, for the most part, okay. I let the images pass before my eyes, seeing but not paying much attention to the scenes of people milling around when I sat bolt upright and stopped the recording. Rewinding, I ran it again, at half speed, staring at the screen. And there it was. I pressed freeze-frame. For several minutes I sat looking at the screen; only later did I realise my mouth had fallen open.

The TARDIS.

There it was, sitting in plain view on a postage stamp piece of grass at the side of a road and being ignored by everyone. The camera had penetrated the perception filter when unaided human eyes couldn't and there it was, larger than life. The last time I'd seen it was two years earlier when it had been in the Plass refuelling and I'd had to hide away to avoid meeting myself. But where was The Doctor?

* * *


	23. Chapter 23

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Three

"You okay, Jack?" asked Suzie from the doorway.

I looked over at her, disorientated from staring at the PC screen for so long. I'd searched the footage from that camera crew five times but there was no sign of the familiar, leather jacketed figure. The three shots of the TARDIS, all fleeting, did not show anyone entering or leaving. He had been there, The Doctor had been in London at the Royal Hope Hospital when it was taken to the moon. I had missed him again.

"Sorry?" I said, sounding gormless to my own ears.

"What have you found?" She came forward, suspicious, and looked over at the PC. "Jack?"

"Nothing, I've found nothing." I smiled at her and rubbed a hand over my tired eyes. "I think I was half asleep from the monotony." I couldn't tell her about The Doctor, I had a personal score to settle with him before I mentioned him to anyone. "What about the Rift?"

"It was an artefact. Seems inert from the usual scans. I'll stick it in storage until I can get round to looking at it properly." She moved back towards the door, still regarding me with a calculating eye. Nothing much gets past Ms Costello.

"Good idea." As much to allay her concerns as for any other reason, I got up and followed her out of the office. Owen was in the medical bay, whistling tunelessly so I looked in on him. "Owen, any word on your friends?"

"Who said they were friends?" he began defensively. "Just blokes I trained with, that's all."

"Hey, my mistake!"

"They're all right, thanks," he muttered gracelessly and turned his back on me. This was one man who would never get carried away by sentiment. Katie's death had soured him, making him sever all emotional ties to anyone. I saw a lot of myself in him.

Standing in the work area, I glanced at my watch and saw it was coming up to six o'clock. Owen and Suzie seemed happy to carry on working, Ianto was still with Toshiko and I needed a breath of fresh air. Grabbing my greatcoat, I told the others I was going out and headed out of the cog door and up the stairs. The Tourist Office had emergency lighting only, enough for us to pass through without knocking into anything. I stood for a moment and smiled at the transformation that had been wrought there; it looked very professional.

I headed out and walked along the waterfront, heading nowhere in particular. The early evening crowd was out, milling around preparing for a night of fun or winding down after a day's work. I skirted round them and after a few minutes found myself near the St David's Hotel, its lights blazing out of the huge windows. Ten minutes later, I was on the roof looking out over the Bay to the Bristol Channel beyond and back over the city. It was drizzling but I didn't care, I welcomed the wet and the cold after a day cooped up underground. And what a day. A hospital on the moon. Not, of course, that anyone would to believe it. Over a hundred staff and patients had the evidence of their own eyes which they were eagerly sharing with anyone who would listen but still there was widespread denial. You people.

As I stood on the ledge, I went over the sight of the TARDIS and what it meant. The Doctor was still around, there was reason to hope - no, to expect - him to come to Cardiff soon. Maybe in a week, a month or a year. Surely he'd be here before another year passed! I had been waiting for so long. My mind moved on and I pictured our reunion. I was still mad at him but … well, he was The Doctor. A Time Lord. Dammit, they were legends, the stuff of fantasies when I was growing up. How could I be mad with a … a god? By remembering how he had abandoned me on an deserted satellite in 200,100, that's how. By thinking of Rose, dead at Canary Wharf, that's how. By having to live with what he had done to me, that's how. When I left the roof I was determined once more to face him and demand answers.

Walking into the Hub a couple of hours after I'd left it, there was a lot of noise. Suzie's laughter – Owen's cursing – Myfanwy's squawks – Ianto's raised voice. I stood looking round trying to work out what was going on. Suzie was by the railing between the desks, laughing uncontrollably. Owen was by the overflow pool, grappling with Myfanwy. And Ianto was nearby trying to stop him.

"What's going on?" I shouted above the noise.

"This bleeding … overgrown flying … bloody animal stole my ribs!!" Owen got this out between clenched teeth. "Give it back!" he shouted. Suzie was on her knees now, having given in to hysterics.

Ianto looked anxiously in my direction. "Sir, can you send Myfanwy back to her nest? Please!"

The plea in the lovely blue eyes would have melted any questions I may have had. I opened the wrist strap and pressed a couple of buttons. Myfanwy squawked defiantly but released whatever she had been holding and soared aloft to perch bad temperedly on a nearby railing.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" I demanded again.

"Your guard dog stole my dinner." Owen turned round, brandishing a bone at me. "I was getting it back." He sounded very proud and had a maniacal grin on his face.

"And what are you going to do with it now? Eat it!?" said Ianto in exasperation. He had come to my side and was reaching for my greatcoat.

"Yeah –" Owen was suddenly deflated, realising the futility of his victory. "Sod it!" he said and chucked the sparerib, for that was the cause of the problem, at Myfanwy. She swooped down and caught it easily, taking it back in triumph to her nest.

"Myfanwy one, Owen nil," said Ianto as he moved past the doctor and up the steps to the office.

"This is all your fault, teaboy! It wouldn't have happened if you'd brought us pizza!" Owen stumped up the steps and flung himself on the sofa. On the coffee table in front of him were some open containers of spareribs in a very aromatic barbeque sauce.

"I'm sick of pizza," retorted Ianto, returning to the work area. "Would you like some ribs, sir?" he asked me. "I kept some back and can warm them through."

"Please. Coffee would be good too." I smiled at him.

His departure to the kitchen and Owen's sulk gave me some much needed peace in which to help Suzie to her feet. She was still giggling spasmodically and it was a lovely sound; she laughed all too rarely. I got her to the sofa where she continued to giggle whenever she looked in Owen's direction.

"Sounds like you've been having fun," I remarked, sitting cross-legged on the floor. If I was going to eat ribs I'd need the table.

"Oh yeah, great fun," retorted Owen sarcastically. He reached for another rib and started gnawing on it. It smelt delicious.

"Sir," said Ianto placing a container of food in front of me with a mug of coffee. He went back to his own meal which he was eating at Toshiko's desk.

"So, tell me what happened."

They told me all the details as I tucked into the ribs, something I hadn't eaten for ages; I couldn't think why, they were delicious. It seems Owen had been eating when he went to get something from the other side of the Hub and Myfanwy had swooped – not on him but on the ribs. The doctor got no sympathy from the rest of us and ignored us as we laughed at his expense. I was pondering why Myfanwy had gone for the food – she's a fish eater as we had established - and Suzie came up with the idea that it was the sauce. Thinking experiments were in order, I sent Ianto off for some other types of food which we coated in the spare sauce. Sure enough, when we offered it to the pterodactyl she gobbled it up. Owen looked on, disgusted, and shortly afterwards took himself home. Suzie wasn't far behind him, still giggling occasionally. Which left me and Ianto, on our own again. I was sucking my fingers, keen to get every last drop of sauce.

"You should be careful, sir," he said, hands in his pockets and standing looking at me, head cocked to one side.

"Huh?"

"She may go for you next." He looked pointedly at my chest and then started clearing up. I looked down and saw liberal streaks of sauce down my shirt. What can I say, I'm a messy eater.

I whipped off the shirt leaving my braces to hang down and threw the dirty garment into the office. Looking down I sucked in my T-shirt covered stomach, deciding a work out might be in order; I'd been eating too well and done too little exercise lately. I sidled up behind Ianto, thinking he could help with my exercise regime.

"I missed you today," I said, wrapping my arms around him from behind. His delicious skin was inches from my mouth so I nibbled at his neck.

"You were busy." He let me continue the nibbling, even pressed back against me. My hands were on his stomach which I was disturbed to feel was flatter than mine. Age, I decided, after all I was a good hundred and fifty years old than him. His hands found mine and took my left, holding it up. "What is this?" he asked, fingering the Vortex Manipulator.

Being busily engaged in exploring his ear it was a moment before I replied. "Wrist strap," I murmured, rubbing against his arse.

"I can see that. How does it work?" He was still looking at it, fingers flirting with the cover. I didn't stop him when he undid it and revealed the controls beneath. "Looks alien."

"Not alien," I said softly into his ear, "just advanced." I straightened up and put my hands on his shoulders, turning him round to face me. "Now, your place or mine?" I kissed him and our tongues met and mingled, both tasting of that lovely barbecue sauce. There was no more talk about the Manipulator that night.

An hour and a bit later we were in my quarters, lying squashed together in the narrow bed. Sex with this boy was satisfying and I was enjoying getting to know his preferences. One thing I had found was that he liked to chat after a session, his voice becoming fainter as he drifted off into sleep. Tonight, he'd asked about my reputation as a lover which I did nothing to downplay. Seems Owen and Suzie had given him the highlights anyway. As he got drowsier I turned the tables on him and learnt that he was bi-sexual – you people and your labels! – and had slept with women and men, though not many of either. He had had only three real relationships: the first with a girl at university; then with a slightly older man when travelling in Greece on an extended holiday; and finally Lisa. This last had been the real thing, or so he had thought, and they'd even talked of marriage. He fell asleep at this point and I joined him, needing a few hours' oblivion.

Tuesday morning brought Toshiko's return. She looked a bit pale but she professed herself well enough to work. Owen didn't say otherwise so I was happy for her to get stuck into the work that had accumulated in her absence. Over mid-morning coffee, she quizzed us about the hospital on the moon malarkey, happily speculating on what might have been the reason. As it was something we'll never know – until I meet up with The Doctor anyway – some of our suggestions were rather fanciful. I brought the conversation round to Tommy Brockless and Toshiko coloured prettily.

"I thought his day was soon," she said, keeping her head down. We were all gathered in the work area, even Ianto who had not yet returned to the Tourist Office. He was spending a lot of time up there and I wondered if the archives were suffering as a result; they were the reason I had recruited him. "Usual procedure?" she asked.

"Yeah. Owen, you getting the stuff together?"

"Uh huh. Ianto's looking out some clothes for him and I've got the stimulants and equipment lined up." Owen was standing at the entrance to the medical bay wearing his white lab coat. He'd been cutting up something and there were a few green streaks on it.

"Do you think this will be the year?" asked Suzie. "I'd really like to know what he's here for."

"No idea." I got practical then. "We'll revive him at eight in the morning and then give him breakfast. Owen can run his tests so by late morning he'll be done. Any idea what to do with him then?"

I said the last mischievously, knowing full well that Toshiko would want to take him out. Her head shot up and she looked around, hoping that no one would come up with anything. Owen smirked into his coffee mug and Suzie smiled. Ianto looked from one to other of us, aware that something was going on but not quite sure what. He had been a bit taken aback when we told him Tommy was frozen alive in the morgue and that we revived him once a year.

"No?" I said languidly. "In that case, Tosh, think you can keep him occupied?" I smiled at her and she scowled back prompting the others to laugh.

"Rotters!" she said and turned round, back to her screens. She is just so easy to tease.

We all got back to work then. There were still a fair number of messages and phone calls for me from all the various agencies involved in or concerned by the move of the hospital the day before. Bureaucrats love to chew over a problem. It was done, the hospital was back. What more was there to discuss? They seemed to think they ought to draw up a plan to prevent it happening again – as if they'd be able to do that. I refused to be drawn into their futile exercise and declined all invitations to join committees and working parties and think tanks. I had to be quite rude to some of them before they got the message.

Leaving the others, I walked up to the Tourist Office and went in to chat to Ianto. He would make me feel better. Just looking at him made me feel better. "Everything okay up here?" I asked, standing in front of the counter. He was perched on a high stool behind it, looking very professional.

"Yes, thanks. Did you need me?"

"Not specially, though I was wondering how the archives were coming along. You seem to be spending a lot of time up here."

He coloured slightly but held my gaze. "I'm filing all the new papers, sir," he said defensively, placing a hand on a pile in front of him. "The backlog hasn't moved as fast as I'd hoped but I'm working on it."

"That was the main reason I took you on, Ianto," I pointed out gently.

"Sorry, sir. I'll close up and get down there now." He started shuffling papers and wouldn't look at me.

"No, don't do that." I moved closer, leaning on the counter. "I just don't want the archives forgotten, that's all." I smiled and tried to make eye contact but he had his head down. I felt a heel for criticising but it had to be said.

"I understand, sir." He paused, visibly hesitating.

"What is it?" I prompted.

"I should have done it yesterday but with Toshiko sick I thought someone should check on her and the time just flew by. I shouldn't have gone." He did look up then and he looked so forlorn, like a child that has been told off.

"Don't be ridiculous." I was leaning over the counter and cupped his face with my hand. "I'm glad you went, and that you and Tosh are getting on so well. All I'm asking is for you to schedule the archives into the day somewhere. Okay?"

"Okay." He nodded and smiled slightly.

"Good." Our lips touched and things might have got interesting if Suzie hadn't erupted through the secret door.

"Jack, there's been a murder in Roath!"

I was not pleased at the interruption and glared at her. Ianto had shied away from me, still reluctant to show his feelings in front of the others. "So what?"

"The Glove, Jack, the Glove!" Her face was alight with anticipation. "We have to go and test the Glove."

I groaned.

* * *


	24. Chapter 24

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Four

The house was cordoned off and police cars were parked all the way up the street. As I drew up I counted four police officers standing around and goodness knows how many were in the house itself. Talk about shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted. I turned off the engine and sat for just a moment, still unsure about what we were doing.

"This way," said Suzie, getting out of the front passenger seat and slamming the door.

Owen, in the back, grunted and opened his door. "I'm not doing the talking this time," he said forcefully and then was gone, equipment box in hand.

I followed them, I couldn't very well sit in the SUV until they got back. I joined them at the crime scene tape while the five – yep, five! – police officers vacated the house. We'd left Toshiko back at the base, not wanting to upset her still delicate stomach, and I checked in with her while we waited.

"What have you got for us, Tosh?"

"_Victim is Patricia Rachel Johnson, nineteen, a first year geography student at the university," _said Toshiko over the comms. _"Lives with three other students in the house at Princes Street. She was found by one of other residents, Alice Hepton, at ten fifteen this morning when she wanted to borrow a hairdryer. Patricia Johnson was beaten over the head with a blunt instrument sometime during the night." _

"Okay. We're going in." The police had filed past us, throwing enough dirty looks in our direction to make me feel quite unwanted.

The house was Edwardian with large rooms and high ceilings but all the period features had been removed. These were typical student digs and included two bicycles propped up in the hallway which we had to manoeuvre past to get up the stairs to the girl's room. She was in the smallest, at the back, looking out onto a scrubby patch of green containing a heap of black rubbish sacks. I expect there were plenty of rats out there. Her room was untidy and dirty with cobwebs on the ceiling and used crockery and take away containers scattered about amid the dirty clothes. Ianto would have had a fit at the state of it. The girl was lying on the bed, in pants and T-shirt, and her head was a bloody mess. Suzie was getting out the glove and positioning herself behind the girl's head and Owen was staring at the posters of deserts on the walls.

"Geography," he said disparagingly. "What the bleeding hell did she expect to do with a degree in geography? Useless bloody subject."

"You'll be able to ask her in a minute," said Suzie, fitting the Glove on her hand and looking over at us. "I'm ready."

"I told you, I'm not talking to her." He backed away, standing as far from the body as it was possible to get in that small, overcrowded room.

"It's all right, Owen, I'll do it. You time us and take the readings." I crouched down beside the corpse, trying to avoid getting brain matter on my greatcoat. "Is there enough brain left to work with?" I asked Suzie.

"Only one way to find out. Okay .. it's coming," said Suzie, jiggling the Glove. "That's it." The little blue lights came on and she put it under the girl's battered head. A moment later the eyes opened.

"Patricia, can you hear me?" I asked, looking closely at her. There was no reply and her eyes, while open, were dead and lifeless. "Patricia?" I waved a hand in front of her eyes and there was no response. "I think she's too far gone."

"I can still see how long I can keep her alive."

Suzie was determined and I let her have her way. It was not harming the girl and we were only doing this to get information on the Glove's powers after all. I stood up and watched as the girl's eyes stayed open for one minute and twenty seconds, almost three times as long as the first time we'd tried this.

"Well that was a complete waste of time," pronounced Owen, shifting restlessly at the door.

"Far from it," countered Suzie, putting the Glove away and standing up. "We now know there has to be sufficient brain to work with and I managed to increase the resurrection time." She sounded pleased with herself; sometimes I worry about the woman.

"Tosh, we're on our way back," I said into the comms. "Tell Ianto to get lunch organised."

"_Will do,"_ she acknowledged and cut the connection.

Owen and Suzie were still wrangling as they went down the stairs, past the bicycles and out of the front door. Amazingly there were even more police officers gathered outside now; I doubted there would be enough left to police the rest of the city. We smiled brightly at them all and headed for the SUV leaving the solving of the crime to them – there were enough of them! The others continued arguing all the way back to the Hub and I had a headache when we drew up in our spot in the garage.

"You two, shut up!" They looked at me, all hurt innocence.

"I'm only stating the bleeding obvious. That Glove is useless," explained Owen, "there's no point in doing this."

"And sitting for hours looking at Weevils is better, I suppose?" accused Suzie.

"Darn sight better!"

"Enough!" I shouted. "Both projects have merit otherwise I wouldn't have let you take them on. Now get inside and do some work."

They went, muttering about the ingratitude of bosses. I followed behind them, dragging my heels a bit; these two were going to drive me round me bend. I'd barely hung my greatcoat on the stand when Ianto appeared with a large box full of lunch containers. We took it up to the Boardroom, grateful for a change of scene. And it is a great view from up there, especially as at the moment I sat down, looking out of the glass walls, Myfanwy spiralled gracefully down.

It was Chinese for lunch and there was a good selection to choose from. Toshiko played safe with rice and stir fried vegetables, and not much of that, but the rest of us tucked in, passing round the containers and loading our plates with a bit of everything. I ended up with prawns, some squid and lots of vegetables and rice with a dumpling on the top. It was delicious. The others were eating too so it was blessedly quiet. Afterwards, when we were just picking at the remains, I looked round at my little team and was quite unreasonably pleased with them. They may annoy me from time to time but they all give a hundred per cent effort and commitment. Okay, most of the time.

"Okay, boys and girls, seeing as we're all together, let's have a quick run through of what's going on right now. Tosh, you want to start?"

"I've caught up on yesterday's work; Suzie had done most of it anyway. Thanks." The two women exchanged smiles. "There's no Rift openings predicted for the rest of the day. I was planning on developing the translation programme and analysing the artefacts that are awaiting attention. There's one of them I'd like your help with, Owen. I think it's something medical."

"I'll take a look," he agreed. "I've not got much on at present. Everything's ready for Tommy and Janet has settled -"

"Who?" I asked, interrupting his flow.

"Janet. The Weevil." He saw our amused expressions and got all defensive. "Well I've got to call her something!"

"But Janet?" said Suzie, grinning widely. "Where the heck did you get that from?"

"I don't know, what's it matter!? She's settled in okay, seems quite happy. I'm going to start testing her reactions to stimuli over the next few days so no one get too close."

"Are you going to feed her then?" asked Ianto. He was still eating, nibbling on a dumpling and looking so cute with his napkin tucked into his collar.

"Oh. No, you can carry on doing that."

"Hang on. Are you feeding the inmates now?" I asked Ianto. This was the first I'd heard of it. The task had always been shared amongst us before.

"I've been doing it for the last few days, sir." He looked at me innocently, dumpling in his upraised hand.

I looked round at the others, none of whom would meet my eye. The lazy gits had palmed the job off on Ianto without a word to me. "And what else have you lumbered Ianto with?" I demanded. They didn't answer and only Suzie would meet my gaze.

"It seemed the sensible thing, Jack. Ianto's always here and he's good at it. The only other thing he's doing for me is ordering in supplies and some of the basic budgeting." She looked from Ianto to me. "He offered."

"Owen?" I asked.

"Cleaning up the medical bay, getting rid of the bodies and keeping the cupboards stocked." He tried to look innocent but on Owen it look faintly sinister.

"Tosh?"

"Ianto's checking the _Dark Talk_ website and e-Bay for me. He also helped with a couple of translations, but only when he had some spare time."

"Spare time!? I'm surprised he has a moment to sleep!" I exploded. No wonder the archives were not getting done. With the Tourist Office, cleaning up, stocking the equipment boxes, catering for us and the tasks these lazy blighters had landed him with he was doing far more than anyone else.

"Well that's your fault." Owen smirked at me. "If you stop shagging him maybe he'll get some."

Owen and Suzie thought this very funny and even Toshiko had to duck her head to hide a smile. Ianto looked embarrassed and turned a bit pink, finding the table very interesting he put the last of the dumpling in his mouth.

"Very funny." I waited for the laughter to die away. "Ianto, you don't have to do what they tell you. Any requests come through me in future. Now, we can take feeding the inmates away right now -"

"Why?" This was from Ianto who had swallowed qiuckly and was staring at me. "It doesn't take long and I'm happy to do it. I know I've neglected the archives the past few days but now I've got a routine, I plan to spend every afternoon down there, you'll soon see a difference."

"You want to do it?"

"Yes. I'd rather be busy, sir."

"Well said," chimed in Owen, "but he ought to get a day off, same as the rest of us. He hasn't had one since he got here."

That brought me up short. Here I was saying how hard he was working and I hadn't even thought of giving him a day off. "Owen's right – for once." The doctor spluttered but I ignored him. "Take a day this week. You can carry on with the jobs you've got but if it proves too much, shout. And no one give him anything else!" I looked round at the three of them, hoping they'd get the message. "Suzie, what are you up to?"

"The Glove, obviously. I'll take that forward when we get another violent death unless you'll let me revive someone in the morgue." She looked hopeful but I stared her out. Just how many times do I have to tell her? "Okay, no to that." She had the grace to smile. "I'm running some tests on the Orilical and I could do with Owen's help there."

"I am in demand," he preened. "I'll try and fit you in but Tosh asked first."

"God, what did I see in you?" Suzie was shaking her head. "I've talked to UNIT and they'll collect her on Thursday morning. Other than that, it's the usual admin that you chuck my way, Jack."

"Good. Ianto, anything you want to add?" I looked at the boy who was tidying the food containers near him: I don't think he could leave a mess if his life depended on it.

"You did say something about giving me some weapons training, sir." Suzie burst out laughing, Owen guffawed loudly and Toshiko giggled. "What? What did I say?" Ianto was looking at them in astonishment.

"Oh boy, Jack, bet you think all your Christmases have come at once!" sniggered Owen.

"Just make sure you keep an eye on his hands at all times," said Suzie, still laughing and placing a hand on Ianto's arm.

"It's not Jack's hands he'll have to worry about!"

I may have mentioned my unique training style. All three of them had experienced it, to a greater or lesser extent, and it had obviously proved memorable and effective. They were all good shots and I made sure they had regular refresher courses - which I thoroughly enjoyed. Training Ianto would be particular fun but he was looking alarmed and even frightened now.

"Don't listen to them, Ianto," I soothed, "they're just jealous." This brought forth more hooting laughter.

"In your dreams, Harkness!"

"We'll talk about it later," I told Ianto and got up. They were still laughing and eagerly telling Ianto all about their own training sessions when I left the room. I didn't mind them spoiling the surprise, I was still sure the boy would enjoy the experience.

The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. Toshiko and Owen had their heads together over an artefact and Suzie was writing up her findings on the Glove before going down to the cells. Ianto floated around for a while, clearing up, before disappearing into the archives. I did a surreptitious check on him and was relieved to see him at the desk in the registry surrounded by files. I had papers on my desk too so I knuckled down and got on with them, writing reports and reading and correcting others. The e-mails had piled up so I cleared those for good measure. At five, Ianto appeared with a mug of coffee and lingered after putting it on the desk.

"Can I do something for you?" I asked, smiling up at him.

"Did you mean it, about me having a day off?" he asked.

"Of course. I should have thought of it myself." I picked up the coffee mug and sipped it, tasting caramel and hazelnuts. "I'd like you in on Friday for Tommy, but otherwise any time is good."

"Could I have Thursday then?"

"Sure." My heart sank a little at the thought of a whole day without seeing him but I had to let him have at least the semblance of a normal life. "Got any plans?"

"I thought I might go and see my sister. It's been a while."

I wracked my brain to remember the details from the personnel file. Rhiannon, that was the name, married with two young kids. Lived on the Cromwell Estate, a sink hole of single parent families and ASBOs. "Sounds like a plan. You need to keep in touch with friends and family, Ianto, or this job will swallow you whole."

"I realise that." He hesitated then said, "Do you ever get a day off? I was thinking maybe … you could have some time on Thursday too. Not to see my sister, of course, but we could do something." He coloured slightly as he spoke and I was tickled as pink as he was becoming. He wanted us to be together.

"That's a nice idea but I can't say now. Have to see what the Rift throws at us."

"Of course, I understand." He turned to leave.

"Ianto," he looked back at me, "thanks for asking. I'd like to, if I can." I was rewarded with a big grin and he went off leaving me smiling inanely at his back view.

Shortly afterwards, Suzie put her head round the door. "I'm off now. Okay?"

"Oh yeah, your Tuesday night fella." I grinned. "See you in the morning."

She went off and I wondered if I should find out more about her Tuesday night appointment. I was turning to the PC to track her on CCTV when I stopped myself. She was perfectly entitled to a private life and meeting friends once a week was hardly likely to cause me any trouble. Instead, I went back to the paperwork. Toshiko left next, still not looking fully fit but denying any lingering effects of her illness.

With Owen down in the cells with the Weevil – Janet, I ask you! – and Ianto back in the archives I was all alone. It was the perfect moment to contact Helen and check up on Felicity Warner. Toshiko had sent me the internal police reports in which they had recommended closing the case, putting it down as one of serial killer's; it would be in the newspapers soon, no doubt. It was a difficult phone call, as all those to Flat Holm were, but I was relieved to discover that Felicity had come off sedation and was doing reasonably well. Only time would tell whether she would recover even in part but she had a chance.

I turned my mind from the distressing thoughts of Flat Holm and anticipated the much happier topic of firearms training with Ianto.

* * *


	25. Chapter 25

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Five

The best laid plans go awry and mine did that Tuesday night. I had been happily contemplating taking Ianto down to the firing range for some one-on-one training when I caught a report of Weevils loose in the city centre. Calling Owen up from the cells, I strapped on my Webley and put on my greatcoat before getting some Weevil kits. There were three of them on the prowl and we'd need to be careful. Owen came up at the run and dumped his lab coat in favour of his leather jacket and Glock. Behind him, Ianto appeared more slowly.

"Do you need me?" he asked. He had heard me call Owen up over the comms. I was touched that he offered to help even after our chat about his fear of going on operations.

"Nah, Owen and I'll go get them in." I gave him a smile as I turned for the door, Owen on my heels.

We were in the SUV and haring up Lloyd George Avenue in the early evening traffic when Owen spoke. "If we get a chance, Jack, I wouldn't mind another subject for my study."

"From the reports I doubt we'll get the chance. They attacked a couple in a car park. You know what they're like when they've tasted blood." I swerved round a bus that was sticking out into my lane and pressed the accelerator to the floor.

"The couple dead?" His interest was professional not caring; Owen didn't identify with the victims we came across.

"The woman is. Man's holding his own last I heard."

"When we've done this, I'll check on him. Retcon him if I have to."

"Good idea." The last thing we needed was someone accurately describing a Weevil to the authorities. Although they probably wouldn't believe him. "And make sure they think something else killed the woman."

Flinging the vehicle around a few bends in the road and ignoring red traffic lights, I got us to the car park in record time. Owen used his PDA to track the Weevils and we headed up to the third floor. The next hour was spent running after the three Weevils and warding off their attacks. We got one down on the third floor and left it hooded and manacled in a corner before going after the others. The second was blooded and vicious and I had to kill it. We had climbed all the way to the sixth floor before we cornered the last one. It was 'snacking' on a man beside his car and Owen didn't hesitate to kill it. Like I said, once they've tasted human blood they are beyond help.

The mess to be cleared up was too big for the two of us, so I called Toshiko back in; her skills for cover-up are far superior to mine. Owen and I loaded the Weevils in the antiquated lift along with the dead man – Ralph Brown according to his driving licence – and then humped them to the SUV. Swinging by the hospital, I dropped Owen to check on the first victim and then carried on to the Hub. Ianto met me at the garage with a trolley and we loaded all the bodies on. I took charge of the live Weevil, slung it over my shoulder and took it down to the cells. Ianto manhandled the trolley and put the bodies in the cold storage units in the medical bay, having passed the man's wallet to Toshiko. By the time I got back, Ianto was on his last body and Toshiko was typing furiously.

Dropping my coat on the sofa, I crossed to stand by her. "Sorry to drag you back, Tosh. But I'm guessing this guy was expected somewhere tonight."

"He was, a business meeting." She continued to type, not lifting her gaze from the screens. "He was self-employed, an independent financial consultant, and he was going to see a potential client. As it looks like he was attacked in the car park – too much blood round his car - I'll have to use that. I'd have liked to make it look like a mugging gone wrong but without a body that's unlikely. So, when the police check our Mr Brown's business contacts they'll find a few familiar names." She grinned up at me mischievously, "It'll look like he's been advising a few criminals on money laundering."

"Nice one."

"I'll arrange for a body to be found late tomorrow." Tosh was back at her keyboard, leaving the trail of clues for the police to follow.

"What about his family?" asked Ianto. He was standing beside me, looking over Toshiko's shoulder. "It's going to make him look like a crook when he isn't."

Toshiko shifted uncomfortably and I guess I did too. The boy was right, we were blackening Ralph Brown's character. I turned to him. "We have to cover this up, Ianto. If it got out that there were Weevils living in the sewers and killing people we'd have half of Cardiff up in arms and the other half fleeing for their lives."

"Still doesn't seem right," he persisted stubbornly. His hands were jammed in his trouser pockets and he was frowning, obviously unhappy with what we were proposing.

"I'll make sure it can't be proved," offered Toshiko, swinging round in her chair. "The criminals will deny it anyway."

"But people will still believe it."

I exchanged a glance with Toshiko and she shrugged before going back to her typing. "You finish that up, Tosh," I told her, "and then head off home. Owen's sorting out the victim that survived and the other death. Ianto, let's go into the office." He followed me, bringing my greatcoat with him and hanging it up carefully. When he was done, he stood defiantly. I could see he was not convinced by our arguments. "What we do here is not perfect, Ianto," I began, "we know that. But we do the best we can to protect the majority of the people. If it means that one man is suspected of criminal activity when he's innocent, I think that's a small price to pay. Don't you?"

"What about his wife and children? They're the ones who've got to live with it. No one should have to be dragged down by their family." This last was said with feeling.

"He was divorced, no kids. Wife has remarried." I had got all this from Toshiko who was a whizz at researching victim's lives. "His parents are dead. There's no one else affected by this." I stepped closer to him, rubbing my hands up and down his arms; his muscles were tense.

"But you'd have done the same if there had been a family, wouldn't you, sir?" He was not giving up.

"Yes I would. Because it has to be done." I dropped my hands and stepped back. "That's what Torchwood does and if you're working here you'd better get used to it." I stepped round the desk and sat down, not looking at him. It was difficult to have to tell him this hard fact of life but he had to learn it, and soon.

"I see." He sounded far from mollified. "Do you need me any more tonight, sir?" I knew from his tone of voice that he would not be sharing my bed this night.

"No."

He left, striding past the desks and down the steps, his back straight. I sighed, my happy imaginings of a few hours together in the firing range seemed a million miles away. Still, he had not stormed out of the base; he'd gone to his room.

I spent a cold and lonely night clearing up the bits of paperwork before pacing round the base unable to settle to anything. Owen popped in to look at the Weevil we'd captured then picked up his stuff and went home. Finally I took _The Curse of the Venusian Women_, one my favourite books from the 1950s, and went to my quarters. After reading for a while I managed to get some sleep.

"Jack, would you like to go out for breakfast?" The question came from Ianto who was standing at the top of the steps as I checked the Rift predictor at Toshiko's desk. It was six o'clock on Wednesday morning.

"Yeah, why not?" I smiled at him and was rewarded with a small smile in return. I closed the programme and waited for him to return with my gun and greatcoat. I was getting used to him doing this, it reminded me of when I'd had a batman in the army.

We walked out, not talking but the silence was companionable. I felt we'd come through the disagreement of last night and were stronger for it. Strange how that mattered to me. I'd known him such a short time but he meant so much. There were a number of cafés dotted round the Quay and we headed for my favourite. It was just opening so we had our choice of tables but had to wait ten minutes or so for our full English breakfasts to arrive. I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to gaze at the handsome Welshman sitting opposite.

"I'm sorry I made a fuss last night," he said, hands wrapped round a cup of inferior coffee. "You're right, of course."

"Don't apologise, Ianto. I don't mind being challenged, in fact I need it. I've been working here so long it's easy to forget the effects of what we do."

"It is wrong to make innocent people look guilty. It's bad enough that they've died."

"You're right, of course you are. I'll bear it in mind for the future."

He smiled at me and sipped his coffee. "You're nothing like Yvonne Hartman. She made a great to-do about listening to our views and opinions then ignored them. I think you'll really try."

I was boosted by this. Nothing like a bit of hero worship from a fit young man to make my day. "I will, promise. And as for Yvonne, I don't want to be like her!" I shuddered theatrically and leant back in my chair.

"Oh, you're nothing like her." His smile became a grin. "She was all touchy-feely, everyone's friend."

"You saying I'm not friendly? And I can do touchy-feely … as you should know." My hand slipped under the table and gripped his knee; I couldn't get it any higher. I laughed as he almost jumped out of his seat, looking round in alarm.

"Not the same, sir." He continued to grin, shyly, and was relieved when our breakfasts arrived.

As we ate, the conversation turned to other matters. I learned that Ianto had given notice on his rented flat and would be bringing in the last of his bits and pieces to make his room at the Hub more homely. The new, larger, bed was on order too. All this pleased me - a lot. He was settling into the base and the organisation so well, and I'd have company at night. He took my questions about the size of the bed with good humour and got a couple of digs in himself. I adore his dry humour. We were a happy pair when we returned to the base just after seven and got started on the day.

I kept my happy mood all morning. Everyone else was on good form too and settled to work with little fuss, it was very refreshing. Suzie was finishing up with the Orilical. Owen decided that the Weevil we'd bagged the night before was not suitable for his study after all so he and Toshiko took it out and dumped it back down a sewer. They also responded to a minor Rift alert bringing back some more space junk. Ianto was in the Tourist Office for a couple of hours then in the archives which he was conscientiously bringing up to scratch after our discussion. I was in the firing range setting up targets and getting out a variety of different firearms. Ianto and I had a date down there after lunch and I was looking forward to it. Boy was I looking forward to it.

I ate my lunch - a sandwich - in the office while on the telephone to John Frobisher. He had been tasked with sorting out the fallout from the Royal Hope Hospital incident and wanted advice. I had time for John – we had history together - so I didn't mind helping out but I made it clear I was not going to do any more than offer words of wisdom. He seemed grateful for even this. As I chatted to him, I kept half an ear on the conversation in the work area where the rest of the team was gathered. They were ribbing Ianto about the firearms training again and there was a lot of laughter.

"Okay then," I said, leaving the office and dumping the dirty plate and coffee mug on the table. "Ianto, you're with me. Tosh, will you clear up?"

"Of course." She smiled prettily and gave Ianto a little pat on the arm. "Have fun."

"They'll have fun all right," said Owen. "No doubt about that." He managed to leer in our direction.

"Nothing wrong with work and pleasure, Owen. Nothing at all."

With a few more parting witticisms ringing in our ears, I led the way down into the bowels of the Hub. The base has many levels and I knew them all – intimately. The firing range was in one of the old railway tunnels and I was explaining this to a sceptical Ianto as we walked along. I had to make a slight detour to show him where the tracks had been removed just to prove my point. Eventually we arrived. The tunnel stretched out in front of us, almost to infinity.

"This way," I told him, taking him into the tunnel itself where I'd left the weapons. "Recognise any of these?"

"Are they guns, sir?" he asked, seriously. It was a good job I was watching him or I'd have missed the flash of mischief in his eyes.

"Very funny." We went through them one by one and I let him handle them. They weren't loaded at this point so I also made him look at the different types of ammunition. He seemed more interested in this. "They're just bullets and clips, Ianto. What's so interesting?"

He put down the clip he had been holding. "I'll have to order new supplies, sir. I need to be able to recognise them." This Welshman is so practical.

"Fine, but we're here to see how you do firing them. Though I hope you never have to." I handed him ear muffs and goggles and then donned the same myself. Next, I took a semiautomatic and inserted the clip. "Let's start with this one." I handed it to him, butt first.

As I had expected, he did not wave the gun around or take up ridiculous poses learnt from TV cop shows and films. Ianto was too quiet and reserved for that kind of display. He weighed the gun in his hands and looked at it carefully before raising it, pointing it towards the targets which I had draped with nifty paper cut outs of Weevils over the more usual concentric rings. I stood behind him, my favourite place – for more than firing guns! – and moved in close.

"One hand, not two," I told him, getting closer still. His head jerked round to see what I doing and the gun followed. "Whoa, careful," I said, grabbing his wrist and forcing the gun down. Taking his shoulders, I pressed myself against him and felt him shiver. "Turn sideways to the target, that's right. Now raise your arm." He did as I instructed even though his breathing was ragged. I actually felt that our 'relationship' helped him as he was used to having me up close. "Focus on the target and take a breath. Breathe out and – squeeze gently." The bullet came out of the barrel and hit the outer ring of the target. It missed the paper Weevil but not by much.

"Wow!" he laughed, letting out some of his tension. "Can I try again?"

"Sure." I stayed close, my arm round his middle as he slowly sighted on the target and let off another couple of rounds. These were better, hitting the Weevil in the chest and head.

We carried on for another couple of hours with a variety of weapons. Ianto did not like the automatics, losing control of them, and kept coming back to the Glock we'd started with. His scores with this were good for a beginner and he had the makings of a reasonable shot – if he wanted to pursue it. By the time we'd finished, I was the one whose breath was ragged. Ianto had taken off his suit jacket and loosened his tie and his shirt had come adrift from his trousers with his exertions. That, and having been so close to him, was making me very hot under the collar.

That wasn't the first time I'd had sex in the firing range but it was the best.

* * *


	26. Chapter 26

_Thanks to all of you who are still following this story. I appreciate your support and the reviews._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Six

After our impromptu shag on the floor of the firing range, Ianto and I were both in need of a restorative coffee. We put the guns away and walked up to the main levels of the Hub, both very conscious of one another. This was how it had started with Lucia back in the seventies; two co-workers sexually attracted to one another and giving in to our baser natures at a time of liberation and free love. But with Ianto I had the satisfaction of knowing it wouldn't have the same consequence: Melissa, or Alice as she is now. Lovely little Alice. Well, not so little, she's a mother herself - of a cute little boy. I don't see them much but she accepts my money which is encouraging. I hope that one day, maybe, we'll be friends.

"Have a good time, boys?" asked Suzie as Ianto and I emerged from the archway. She was smirking so I guessed the three of them had been glued to the CCTV. Ianto ducked his head, turning a little pink. He is just so cute when he does that, almost as good as the eyebrow thing. "Delivery arrived for you, Ianto," she went on, nodding over towards the cog door.

Turning to look I saw a large – and I do mean large – double bed. I'm sure it had been delivered in pieces but these jokers had set it up and decked it out with some of the plastic we have lying around, hanging the stuff around it like fancy drapes. On the mattress was a huge red heart.

"Oh good, it's arrived." I strode over and had a look at it. This was a bit more like it, we'd have plenty of room for … manoeuvres. I bounced once or twice on the mattress, nice and firm.

Ianto had followed me over and was surveying his purchase. I'm sure he was annoyed at what they'd done to the bed but he didn't show it. Calm in the face of adversity, that was Ianto. "If you've finished, sir, I'd like to get this downstairs."

"I'll help you," I offered with a conspiratorial smile just for him. "But how about that coffee first?"

He thought about this. "Okay. IF you stop bouncing." He regarded me coolly and, when I stopped, he made for the coffee machine.

After one more bounce – couldn't resist - I walked up to the work area where Toshiko was at her desk working but she still managed a grin in my direction. Owen was whistling in the medical bay, a tuneless sound that he made when he was occupied. Looking in, I saw he was almost done cutting up a Weevil.

"Anything on the predictor, Tosh?" I asked, standing beside her.

"Not for tonight. Looks like there'll be something tomorrow, around lunchtime. If you have a moment, care to look at this?" She held out a small lozenge shaped artefact. We'd found it a couple of weeks before and it had been languishing on the shelf in the office where most small new items went before they were examined, catalogued and secured. "It appears to be a containment field of some kind."

"Could be useful." I was thinking of some of the more dangerous entities that landed on our doorstep. Being able to contain them in situ would make our job a lot less dangerous. "How does it work?"

"You're back then?" said Owen from behind us. He sauntered over to join us, smirking all the way. "Hope you didn't overdo it down there, gotta launch the love boat tonight." He nodded in the direction of the bed.

"Me overdo it? Never!" I grinned, pleased he couldn't embarrass me – it frustrated him so much. I looked down at the artefact, which was intriguing, and Toshiko. "You were saying?" I prompted

She threw a long-suffering glance at Owen and turned back to me. "It has a power source, bit like a battery. As it's so small I don't think it will last very long, half an hour maybe, but that would be long enough to be useful. Not sure how it activates at the moment."

"That's 'cos you've got no imagination, Tosh," interrupted Owen again, "you're way too logical." He took the thing from my hand and turned it over once or twice. There was no obvious switch and I was interested to see what he would do with it. Toshiko constantly astounds me with her intuitive way with alien hardware but on occasions she can be blinkered, expecting things to work in human ways, whereas Owen has leaps of intuition that are pretty amazing. Not often, admittedly, but every now and then. "Now, let me think," he murmured to himself. "I want to contain something that's coming towards me. What would I do with you, my little beauty?"

As I waited to see what he came up with I watched Ianto give Suzie her coffee and walk towards us. If I didn't know – at first hand – what he'd been up to barely twenty minutes earlier I wouldn't have guessed. He was cool, calm and professional and his suit had barely a stain or a wrinkle. He's amazing. He was circling the water tower, tray in hand and frowning in concentration as he negotiated the shallow steps, when a small flash of light caught my eye. Owen had thrown the artefact and it caught the light as it flew through the air in a graceful arc. When it landed at Ianto's feet a shimmering containment field emerged like a tornado funnel.

"Fuck!" came from Ianto, trapped inside. "I suppose you think that's funny!?" he complained, glaring in our direction.

"Yep," agreed Owen, laughing. "See, Tosh, no need to puzzle any longer. Just ask your Uncle Owen."

He led the way, with me and a scowling Tosh following, to look more closely at the containment field. Suzie came to join us, sipping her coffee. I touched the field and got a mild shock. It wouldn't kill whatever touched it but it was sufficient to stop anyone getting through. This could be very useful indeed. It was at this point that I looked through the shimmering field and saw a pissed off Ianto looking back. More important, I saw my coffee mug in there with him.

"Okay, Owen, you've shown us how it works. Now turn it off," I told him.

"Do we have to? We ought to find out long this battery lasts." He was grinning widely, pleased with himself both for getting the thing to work and for trapping Ianto.

Suzie chuckled. "You want to be on instant coffee again?" she asked innocently.

Owen's face changed and so did mine. I'd been on the receiving end of that particular form of punishment and I wasn't keen to repeat the experience anytime soon. I bent and picked up the artefact and the field shimmered out of existence. So, throwing it at something activated it and picking it up again turned it off – simple and very useful.

"Sorry, Ianto," I said, giving him my best ingratiating smile.

"So you should be."

He stood there as we took our coffees and then strode off with his own drink to start dismantling the bed. Poor bloke, he has to put up with a lot. Feeling guilty, I went over to help and we soon had the bed in manageable segments. We took them to the top of the steps and left them there until the coffees were finished when I got Owen to help Ianto carry it down to his room; he had nothing else to do and it was a little bit of payback.

E-mails and paperwork had piled up so I sat and got through some of that. I wanted plenty of time that night to try out the new sleeping arrangements. Around seven thirty, Owen departed for the evening muttering something about a hot date. Suzie and Toshiko were deep in discussion about another artefact that had been lingering on the shelf for a while and so I left them to it and walked down to survey the new bed

"That looks inviting," I drawled from the doorway. And it did. Ianto was bent over putting the duvet straight and I had a good view of his arse. "You and a big, big bed in close proximity, what else could a man ask for?"

"You could help." He looked over his shoulder at me, his hands tangled in the bedding.

"Enjoying the view too much."

With a disgusted 'Humph' he went back to his work and I watched as he stretched this way and that, putting everything in order. As I stood there, I took in the room and saw a few new touches that made it more like a home. There was a rug on the floor, a full length mirror and a better chest of drawers. On the left-hand wall was a poster of Cardiff Castle, somewhere I'd never visited. When he had finally finished I went a bit closer and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Want to try it for size?" I suggested, sotto voce.

He turned his head and looked at me for a long moment. "Are you always this randy?"

"Oh yes, especially with tall, dark, handsome Welshmen." I licked his ear and he ducked away. "So, how about it?"

"Maybe later. I'm hungry."

I thought about this and realised I could do with some food; sex always makes me hungry. "Me too. Want to go out? Suzie and Tosh can hold the fort for a bit longer."

"Okay. I'll have a quick shower and change. Your office in ten minutes?"

"I'll be ready." I caressed and pinched his arse before leaving the room.

Half an hour later, we were sitting in an old-fashioned pub without music or big screen TV, lovely. In order to be sociable, I joined him in a beer and our glasses were on the table in front of us. I don't drink a lot as it does nothing for me but drinking water all the time gets pretty boring. The fish and chips we'd ordered were on their way and all was right with the world, for a little while anyway. We talked about this and that including his plans for his day off.

"Ianto," I began carefully, not wanting to offend him, "about seeing your sister ..." I paused and he looked at me curiously.

"What about it?"

"What are you going to tell her … about your job?"

"Same as I told her I did in London, working for the Government. A civil servant." He sipped his beer and shrugged. "She wouldn't believe me if I told her the truth anyway."

"Suppose not." I was relieved, he had not been offended that I'd asked. "Tell me about her."

"Not much to tell. She's older than me, married with two children. Boy and a girl."

It was clear he didn't want to say any more and the atmosphere might have become strained if our food hadn't arrived then. As it was, we busied ourselves with cutlery and discussed the competing merits of salt and vinegar versus tomato ketchup as the right accompaniment to fish and chips (the latter, obviously!) and the moment passed. It was pleasant to sit in a relatively quiet pub with a good looking companion and eat well cooked food. We chatted a bit more and had another drink each then headed back to the Hub. I was very much aware of the big, big bed awaiting us there.

Suzie and Toshiko were still in the Hub, almost in the same position as we'd left them and they updated me on the artefact they'd been studying. It was still a work in progress and I could see them staying all night if I let them. They are both dedicated for which I am grateful but they need time away from the base if only to sleep. Suzie had her Tuesday evening date and Toshiko saw her family once a month or so but that was the only sign I had seen that either of them had a life outside Torchwood. I sent them home and they went, eventually.

Ianto had disappeared into the medical bay to check how well Owen had cleaned up after the Weevil and I found him swabbing the floor with disinfectant. "Ianto, it's almost ten. It's okay for you to stop working now." I was leaning on the railing looking at him in his snug jeans and close fitting top and feeling pleasantly aroused.

"This will stain if it's left overnight," he muttered without looking up. "You have paperwork to sort out."

"I did most of it earlier."

He turned and gave me a searching look over his shoulder. "You haven't had time to do it all. Go on, I'll be another half an hour or so. I'll let you know when I'm done."

It was more like forty minutes later when he finally finished. I saw him making coffee so put the report I was reading to one side and wandered out of the office, meeting him at the foot of the steps by the cog door. We stayed there, almost where the bed had been, and sipped the beverages in silence. I sat on the steps while Ianto went to the table where we keep a few oddities including one very special one. It was this that caught Ianto's attention and he put his coffee down to pick up the container.

"Careful with that," I warned before downing the last of the drink.

"What are you doing with a hand in a jar?" He was turning it round, looking at it from all angles.

"Waiting for it to do something."

"What, wave?" He put it down and picked up his mug.

I smiled but didn't reply. How could I tell him that when the hand twitched in a certain way it would be a sign that The Doctor was near and then I would be cured of the curse he had inflicted upon me. Ianto wouldn't understand, couldn't, so there was no point trying to explain.

"Something else you're not going to tell me, is that it?" he said eventually. His coffee was finished and he took my empty mug from my unresisting hand. "Secrets, that all you are, Jack. A big bundle of secrets."

"But what a fabulous time you could have unravelling them. And me."

He sighed then smiled. "I'll rinse these then I'm going to turn in."

He walked off to the kitchen and I stared after him. Did that mean he didn't want me in his new bed tonight? Was I going to have to sleep alone? Surely he wouldn't build up my hopes just to dash them. I stayed where I was, watching his shadow as he moved round the kitchen and then he came out and walked to the archway which led down. He took the steps down and my hopes faded as he disappeared from sight. I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh, not so much frustration – I'd been getting a lot lately – as disappointment.

"Are you coming then?" The firm Welsh vowels drifted across the space from the archway to where I was sitting. Ianto was standing looking at me, one eyebrow raised. I was on my feet immediately and closing the distance between us; he had only been teasing.

The bed got a workout that night, as did Ianto and I. The extra space allowed for more experimentation and we were both exhausted by the time we were finished. Lying in my arms, Ianto didn't even want to chat before sleep. He was out like a light and I was left staring up at the poster for a while before I too nodded off. It was four o'clock in the morning when I woke fully and it took a moment to remember where I was. The room had no natural light but Ianto had rigged up a lamp in one corner that let off a soft glow – very romantic as well as practical.

I eased away from Ianto and got out of the bed, gathered up my clothes and padded out of the room. After an invigorating shower, I dressed and went up to the work area. No alarms and nothing predicted, seems there was nothing to stop me getting on with the paperwork and clearing what I'd started. I try to keep on top of it all, if only because then, when an emergency arises, I don't get overwhelmed by the paper. With Tommy Brockless on Friday, I planned to get as up to date as possible so I could spend some time with him. It was interesting to see his reactions to the changes every year, no matter how superficial, and I might even get a chance to chat about the old days though Toshiko will probably whisk him away as soon as she possibly can.

With a tune playing softly on the radio, I got stuck into the reports and analyses.

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	27. Chapter 27

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Seven

It's strange how the Rift comes alive when you least want it to. At a little after seven o'clock on Thursday morning there was an unexpected opening and reports of UFO sightings over Penarth came in on the police scanners and news channels. I called Toshiko in and got Suzie to meet me over there; if the reports were correct, the spaceship had landed on a school sports field. When I left the Hub, coat flying behind me dramatically (I always check my reflection) I only had time to shout to Ianto to let him know what was going on.

Fighting the traffic did not put me in a good mood. The city gets congested at this time of day anyway and the people who had decided to travel out to see the UFO only added to the chaos. I turned the flashing blue lights on and they worked their usual magic and I forced my way through to Victoria Primary School. Cornerswell Road was slap bang in the middle of a residential estate and all the locals had come out to gape at the object. The few police officers were doing a lousy job; some kids were touching the spaceship and one was climbing on it. With an effort, I managed to park reasonably close and spotted Suzie having an argument with a cop.

"What's the problem, officer?" I asked, striding up to Suzie's side. "This is Torchwood business."

"Which is fine by me," he replied angrily, "but I don't have the manpower to cordon off the area as your … colleague is suggesting."

"Then get it. And it wasn't a suggestion."

I headed off, through the rickety wire fence to the crowd of people around the spaceship. Three policemen were trying to get the crowd back a reasonable distance and crime scene tape was fluttering uselessly. It's at times like this that I wish British police were armed. There would be far less larking about if cops had guns to wave around – which gave me an idea. Drawing my Webley I fired into the air and there was instant stillness, one or two people even fell to the ground. Not injured you understand, just being careful. The kid on the spaceship slid off and ran into the crowd.

"Jack!" hissed Suzie in my ear, sounding annoyed. I ignored her.

"All of you, get back to your homes. Go on." I lowered the gun and let it travel along the line of the crowd. They moved fast, adults grabbing kids and hustling them away while shouting abuse at me. I didn't care what they said provided they moved.

"Was that really necessary!?" said Suzie, facing me. "You could have killed someone!"

"Not unless they were flying. Now, what have you got?" She muttered and shook her head but started tapping at her handheld scanner. I called up the Hub. "Tosh, you there?"

"_Yes, Jack."_ She sounded breathless and I guessed she hadn't been in long. _"The object came through at six fifty-six this morning and flew around a bit before landing. I'm just getting Suzie's scans; I'll run them through the database for origin." _

"Good. I don't think it's a major invasion. Looks more like something shoved through the Rift unexpectedly." The spacecraft was small, barely a metre high and about the same wide. I didn't recognise it. Whatever was in there was small – and probably frightened. Frightened members of any species do stupid things if they think they're under threat. "Suzie?"

"There are three life forms inside. All alive and huddled together in the pointy end."

"The pointy end!?"

"Yeah, the pointy end." She glared at me. "There seems to be a lot of equipment, controls that sort of thing, in the same place. The life forms are small, around forty centimetres long. The atmosphere inside is close to ours, nothing dangerous."

"Tosh, anything on origin?"

"_No, sorry. We've got nothing like it in the database."_

"It's not armed. Well, not with anything we've come across before," put in Suzie.

I glanced back to the fence where the crowd was still gathered, a lot of them gesticulating in our direction. We had to wrap this up before it got nasty. "Then let's introduce ourselves. Suzie, stay back and record everything. Tosh, keep monitoring."

I moved forward to the hatch and knocked. I could have opened it with my Manipulator but I like to be polite. Settling cross-legged on the ground, I waited and a couple of minutes later the hatch slowly opened and a snout appeared. It was brown and it sniffed and twitched before more of the long head appeared and eyes focussed on me. Not many people have seen a Tenquoo, luckily I had. Using universal sign language, developed in the thirty third century to aid communication between species, I introduced myself.

"It's a rat," said Suzie from behind me, her scanner trained on the ship and the Tenquoo. "And it's wearing a hat," she sniggered.

"Stop it. Commander Tisguard is important on his own world." I continued talking to him then he disappeared back into the ship.

"Where's he gone?"

"To get his colleagues and secure the ship. We're taking it and them back to the base." I stood up, wiping down the back of my greatcoat. "Have I got grass stains on this?" I asked, twisting round to see.

"Stop arseing about," said Suzie, exasperated. "What are these things?"

"Tenquoo. And they're highly intelligent so mind your manners." I threw the SUV keys at her. "Go get the SUV, bring it up here."

She went and I waited. The Tenquoo are peaceful and I'd learnt that this was a training flight for a prototype ship; all had been well until they'd been grabbed by the Rift. Pattering paws alerted me to the reappearance of the Commander and his crew. The three of them, in white uniforms and with small backpacks, raised their snouts to look up at me. Telling them what I intended and warning them to keep out of sight, I lifted them up and deposited them in my greatcoat pockets: the Commander in one on his own as befits a leader and the other two in another. Commandeering a couple of the policemen, we lifted the craft into the back of the SUV; it balanced a bit precariously, resting on the back of the rear seats. I left Suzie to square the police and follow in her own car and drove carefully back to the Hub. My guests peered out of the pockets and chattered, reassuring themselves I suppose.

Needless to say, Toshiko was in raptures about meeting another species. As soon as I introduced them to her she became their best friend, treating them with courtesy and respect even though they did look like rats. She found they were hungry and thirsty and took them off to the kitchen, the three Tenquoo clinging to her shoulders and arms.

"I could have done that," said Ianto, looking after her.

"You're on holiday," I told him, turning him to face the cog door. "Go and see your sister, she's expecting you." I patted his pert arse - clad in tight denim - to speed him on his way.

"Are you going to get any time off?"

"Call me around one and I'll see how we're doing. Now go, Ianto!" I gave him a firm push this time and he took a few steps, stopped, looked at me forlornly then went out of the door.

When Owen got in a half hour later, around the same time as Suzie made it back, he gave the Tenquoo a brief examination then we all went up to the Board Room and discussed what had happened. I couldn't continue to act as interpreter, so a good hour was taken up devising a method of communication that the others could use too. With that done, we got on much quicker. The only stumbling block came when we asked to examine their ship. They were understandably reluctant and we debated this back and forth for a while until Toshiko solved the impasse by using her scans to prove that Tenquoo and human technology were incompatible. With a tentative understanding on that point, we agreed to set our guests up in one of the smaller rooms on the lower level with the ship as living accommodation until something better could be sorted out. Owen and Suzie lugged the ship down there, the Tenquoo perched on their shoulders chattering excitedly about not damaging it.

"They're wonderful, Jack, truly wonderful," enthused Toshiko as we walked up to the work area. "A race that doesn't want to kill us or take our resources."

"They're okay, I wouldn't have brought them back here otherwise. I want you to spend time with them today. Perfect the translation so there can be no misunderstandings and keep them out of mischief."

"Will we really be able to send them back?" We had talked about this and thought it might be possible.

"If you can match Rift energy signatures to another opening, yeah. They have a working spaceship and seem willing enough to give it a go." I grinned at her. "They'll be heroes if they get back, why wouldn't they want to try?"

"I'll write a programme to search for the energy signatures then I'll go and make sure they're all right down there." She sat at her desk, a smile on her face. It was good to see her so happy.

Back at my desk I realised I'd missed out on a mug of Ianto's special brew. I was also missing having him around, getting glimpses of him as he moved round the Hub from Tourist Office to archives and all points in between. Maybe, if the Rift was kind to us, I would get a few hours with him that afternoon. I fielded a few phone calls and signed off some reports but I found it hard to settle to anything. Suzie was busy with the UNIT guys who had come to collect the Orilical and Toshiko was with the Tenquoo so I went to bother Owen.

"Been meaning to ask, how's your Weevil study going?" I leant on the railing looking down on him as he tidied away his instruments.

"Early days. Janet's responding to stimuli which may mean Weevils are more intelligent than we've given them credit for." He shrugged. "Or it may not. Lots of work to do yet."

"And you're ready for Tommy tomorrow?"

"Yep. Got all the stuff here." He gestured to an array of instruments and stimulants.

"Good. Do us a favour and order lunch, and get them to bring in some coffee."

"I miss it too," he grinned, looking suddenly youthful. "The teaboy makes bloody good coffee."

I wandered back to the office, still unsettled. How could one person not being there be doing this to me?

"Jack, here's the report on the Orilical." Suzie was coming into the office and handed me another of her favourite slim folders. "I got a lot of good stuff this time."

"Great. Look, I was thinking of taking a couple of hours off this afternoon, you be okay to look after things here?"

"Sure." She was grinning. "So, it's going okay then, you and Ianto?"

"Yeah." I tried but I couldn't help grinning too. Even thinking about him made me go all soppy.

"I've never seen you like this before, Jack."

"What do you mean?" Now I was alarmed. It was all very well for me to know I was getting in deep with the boy, but if it was obvious to the others that was another thing altogether.

"I don't know … caring about someone. You don't usually get this involved. Love 'em and leave 'em, that's more your style."

She was right, up to a point. I had fallen in love in the years I'd been on Earth, even married once. Could have been twice if I hadn't run away from Estelle. And there was Lucia, not that she would have married me if I'd asked, though we had had Alice. But in recent years I had deliberately shied away from involvements, knowing that I would not be around once The Doctor came back. It couldn't be much longer before I saw him again especially as he'd been in London this week. Was it wrong to get close to Ianto? Maybe I should be pulling back, not spending more time with him.

"Jack?" Suzie was looking at me oddly. "Hey, for what's it worth, we all think it's great you two have got close. Ianto needs someone like you to drag him out of his shell." She moved towards the door. "Go spend some time with him."

She was gone and I sat and thought about the conversation. Where I had been happy to get closer before, now I doubted it would be good for Ianto. Damn, why does everything have to get so complicated? Putting all thoughts of the Welshman from my mind, I started reading Suzie's report which kept me occupied until the pizzas arrived. Lunch included the Tenquoo who had changed out of their uniforms into red overalls. Pizza seemed to suit them very well.

The predicted Rift opening at just gone one o'clock was small and Suzie insisted on taking Owen and dealing with it herself. So, when Ianto phoned ten minutes later I was free to leave the Hub and meet him in St Mary's Street. I jumped on a bus as one was at the stop when I passed the Millennium Centre. The short journey didn't resolve any of my doubts about getting close to Ianto but when I spotted him on a bench waiting for me they became less important. No matter what the immediate future may hold, I wanted to be with this boy and enjoy our time together.

"Hey," I said, walking up to him, "what's a nice boy like you doing in a place like this?"

"Waiting for someone … but you'll do." He smiled gently and blushed a little. He was still unsure of himself around me despite sharing my bed just about every night.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Don't know." He stood with his hands in his jacket pockets. "You eaten?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Umm, with Rhi."

"How was she?"

"Good." He moved out of the way of some women walking past. "How are the … rat things?"

"Tenquoo. Settling in." This was ridiculous, we were acting like teenagers on a first date. "Want a drink?"

"Okay."

We walked along the pavement, dodging shoppers and workers on their lunch break, to a pub. It was busy and we had to wait to be served but at least the ice had been broken. I asked about his morning but Ianto was reluctant to say much. The kids had been at school, I got that much out of him, and it had just been him and his sister. We chatted about this and that and I let slip that I had never looked round Cardiff Castle.

"You must. We'll go now."

He drained his beer and looked at me eagerly. Traipsing round historic places is not my idea of a good time but I couldn't think of anything better to do so I finished my water and we went outside, walking up towards the Castle. On the way he began filling me in on its history and the Marquesses of Bute who had saved it from ruin. He knew his stuff and I realised that purely by accident I had found the ideal person to run my Tourist Office. We paid – an exorbitant sum in my opinion – and went in through the archway. I let Ianto take the lead and he worked out we had time for the battlement walk before the Castle tour. It was a bright, sunny afternoon for once so it was pleasant to climb up high and look down on the traffic and shops on one side of the wall and the quiet green oasis on the other. The tour of the Castle followed and a visit to the regimental museums. Finally, we climbed up to the Norman keep and poked around in there.

Back on the lawn, I stopped. "Ianto, thanks."

"What for?"

"For bringing me here, I'd never have bothered otherwise."

He grinned and folded the map he'd been using. "We'll have to do Castell Coch next."

"That the one with the round towers, by the motorway?"

"Uh huh. It's got some fantastic interiors, even better than here."

"Okay, that's a date. Next day off we get, we'll go there."

"You mean it?" He was suddenly unsure again.

"Yep." Checking my watch, I saw it was gone five o'clock. No one had called me back to work so I assumed all was well but I couldn't stay away much longer.

"Gotta get back?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry. But you don't have to." We began walking back to the archway and the modern world.

"I've nothing else to do." Back by the road four lanes of traffic were at a standstill in front of us. "Let's go back by river bus," he suggested, gesturing to the right and the River Taff. "It'll be as quick as walking."

"Sounds like an idea."

So that was how I ended my first free afternoon for months, sitting in a boat sailing down the Taff towards Mermaid Quay with Ianto by my side and the sun shining on us. Does life get better than this?

* * *


	28. Chapter 28

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Eight

Most of Thursday evening was spent in the Tenquoo's room.

They were generally happy with the arrangements we'd made for them but had one major concern they had not been able to communicate to Toshiko. I understood as soon as we started 'talking' that the problem was Toshiko herself; they had not realised she was a female until late afternoon. Male Tenquoos are dominant in their society and females are treated as little more than breeding stock. These three macho flyboys were pretty mad that I'd left them in the care of a female. Luckily I was in a good mood or I might have been short with them. As it was I was still basking in the glow of my afternoon so I settled in for a long discussion, explaining how relations between the sexes worked on Earth and the equal role that females played. The concept was so alien to them that they hadn't grasped it even after two hours. We arrived at a compromise: they would deign to deal with Toshiko on technical matters as they recognised her expertise but they did not want her to look after their day to day needs. This suited me as it made more sense for Ianto to take over their care. I called him in and introduced him properly and the Tenquoo were happy.

Toshiko, of course, was not happy. I spent another half an hour placating her before sending her home. Suzie had already made tracks and Ianto went to his room after making me a mug of coffee. I was drinking it when Owen appeared at the office door.

"Need to talk to you." He plonked himself down in the visitor's chair.

"Why don't you come in and sit down," I invited sarcastically. I was surprised he was still in the Hub; we had an early start tomorrow and normally he'd have used that as a excuse to leave well before now.

"Lay off Ianto."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said, lay off Ianto. Whatever the pair of you have been up to – and I do not want the details – has left him pretty sore. He needs some time to heal." I sat back in my chair, stunned. My mouth must have dropped open too as he went on. "Shut your mouth, Harkness, you look even more stupid than normal."

"How? I mean … " I couldn't find the words.

"Ianto came to see this evening and as his doctor I'm telling you the same thing I told him. He needs a rest. Energetic sex is all very well but if you keep on at this rate you'll do him permanent damage." Owen folded his arms across his chest, fixing me with a penetrating stare.

"He never said …" The words still wouldn't come.

"Yeah, well, he wouldn't, would he? If you asked him to jump off the top of the fucking water tower he'd do it. Serious case of hero worship there." He looked disgusted. "He doesn't know I'm talking to you so it's up to you to find a way to calm things down for a while."

"But he's all right?"

"Yes, like I said he's just sore. At the moment. From what little I could get him to say, he's not had a lover like you before. And stop preening, you stupid bugger. The way you flaunt it, we all know you're hung like a horse but just think about where you're putting it for once." He stood up. "And now I'm going home, seeing as I've got to get up at the crack of bleeding dawn."

He stomped off and was gone leaving me still stunned. I had not expected anything like that to be dropped on me but, thinking about it, I should have. Ianto had told me that he'd had sex with men before but it had been clear that they had been short lived affairs except for the guy in Greece. And we had been … energetic as Owen had put it. Shagging two or three times most nights, and during the day on occasion, must have given Ianto a real workout.

"Jack, want a sandwich?" Ianto was standing in the office doorway in those snug jeans and a sweatshirt.

"Yeah, please."

"Cheese and pickle okay?"

"Fine." I watched him walk off to the kitchen, and now I was looking for it I saw he was not moving as lithely as usual, hadn't been for a day or two. Owen was right, it was time to lay off.

Five minutes later Ianto was back with the sandwiches – nice chunky ones – and a couple of bottles of water. He sat down and we ate. Ianto wanted more background on the Tenquoo so I told him all I knew which wasn't much. It pleased him when I asked him to find out more details while he was caring for them.

"Suzie said to hold breakfast back until after Owen's revived this soldier tomorrow. She said he's usually hungry." Ianto put his plate on the desk.

"Good plan." I drank the last of the water and screwed the cap back on the empty bottle. "Arrange some coffee for sevenish, that's when the others will be coming in."

"Okay." He sat for a moment, running a finger up and down his leg – very sexy but I suppressed my natural response. "You coming to bed?" It was close to nine thirty and I was tempted, very tempted, but the boy needed a break.

"Think I'll get some of this done," I said, negligently indicating the single folder on my desk. Why was there no paperwork when I needed it!?

Ianto gave me a puzzled look. "Okaaay," he said again, drawing out the word. He stood up, took the plates and the empty bottles and went out of the office.

I sighed with relief. He would get an uninterrupted night tonight. Making a great show of opening the file and putting the three pages inside across my desk, I sat with my head down ostensibly studying them.

"Owen said something, didn't he?" Ianto was back.

"Yeah. I wish you had." He looked at his feet and chewed a lip. I got up and moved round the desk to stand in front of him. "It's not a problem, Ianto."

"If there's no problem, why aren't you coming to bed?" He glared at me.

"Because …"

"What? Because sex is all you want? Bloody Owen!"

"Hey, he was being responsible … for once. Why didn't you say something?" I reached a hand to his arm but he shrugged me off.

"I was going to. Tonight. But now I know that's all you're interested in at least I know where I stand!" He turned to leave so I grabbed both his arms.

"Whoa! I never said that! Just because I can't keep my hands off you doesn't mean that's all there is." I took a breath, trying to think before I said too much. "I enjoy being with you, like this afternoon. That was fun."

"Really?" His confrontational tone had softened and was now uncertain. It reminded me how young this boy was, and how vulnerable.

"'Cos it was." I reached out and pulled him into a kiss. He responded, gentle and undemanding, sweet. "I'm trying to be responsible here."

"We don't have to shag. Just come and share the bed, Jack. I want you close, you keep the nightmares away."

How could I resist those big blue eyes when they were trained on me with such intensity. I kissed him again and felt myself harden when he moulded himself to my body. I pulled back, knowing he'd felt it too. "See, that's why being close -"

"Just come, Jack. I can see to that in other ways." He did not look so young and vulnerable now.

He took my hand and pulled me from the office and I went willingly. He knew how to push all my buttons and get me to do whatever he wanted. That was a sobering thought but he was already showing me how he intended to look after my little Captain and it was difficult to think straight. It was a great night. Different from those we'd had thus far and better for it. Later, lying with him in my arms, we talked a bit about our afternoon together, remembering. When he finally slept, my earlier doubts returned. Ianto needed stability, a constant presence in his life and expected me and Torchwood to be just that. Yet I was merely waiting my chance to leave and no one working for Torchwood could make long-term plans. I was troubled as I drifted off to sleep.

At seven thirty on Friday morning the others had arrived and we were drinking coffee in the work area. All was ready for Tommy but I wanted to run over the plans once more. "Okay, Owen wakes up Tommy at eight. Once he's up and about, we'll have breakfast. Let's use the Board Room, Ianto, and something cooked would be good."

"I was going to do a full English, with toast. Will that be all right for him?"

"He'll like that," smiled Toshiko, "though he prefers tea to coffee." The thought of reviving Tommy had put her in a good mood – a very good mood – and taken her mind of the Tenquoo. She had dressed for the occasion too, in a pencil skirt and figure hugging top.

"I'll run the usual tests after we've eaten," put in Owen. "Should take an hour or so."

"And then I'll take him out." Toshiko's smile became a grin.

"Where are you going to go?" asked Suzie. She had been quiet this morning which was unlike her. Maybe it was her time of the month.

"Not sure. He likes to look round the Bay. And we'll probably have a drink and something to eat. Maybe a movie."

"Sounds fine. Have him back here by seven tonight then we can get ready to freeze him again," I told her. Twelve hours consciousness, that's all Tommy gets once a year. Not much but better than what would have happened to him if he'd stayed in 1918. They didn't understand shellshock back then. "Ianto, keep the Tenquoo downstairs until Tommy's out of the Hub, might be a bit difficult to explain them to him." Ianto nodded and started collecting up the coffee mugs.

"We ought to go get Tommy," said Owen, standing up.

"May I come?" asked Ianto, standing with the tray full of mugs in his hand. "I'd like to see what happens."

"Sure." I smiled at him. He was wearing his suit with a waistcoat today and looked so different from the young man of yesterday.

The cryogenic morgue used alien technology and had been here when I'd first encountered Torchwood. Despite its age, it worked beautifully and held all manner of alien and human bodies - some dead, some in stasis – including all previous Torchwood Three personnel. Well, all those with remains. The whole team was there when I unlocked drawer 015. The puff of escaping gases, like dry ice, dissipated quickly as I pulled out the casket containing Tommy. We got him into the lift and sent him up to the medical bay.

"Everyone ready?" asked Owen when we had moved Tommy to the examination table. Suzie and I were in the well of the medical bay, standing a pace or two back from Owen and Toshiko who were either side of the table. Ianto was leaning over the railing looking down on us. His face was its usual mask so I didn't know for sure what he was thinking, fascination and revulsion in equal measure I expect.

"Do it," I told Owen.

He injected the chemicals and we waited a moment or two then Tommy jerked, took a ragged breath and opened his eyes. He looked round wildly, hands and legs twitching as his circulation speeded up and awareness returned.

"Do you know where you are?" asked Toshiko leaning over him. Her hand brushed the top of his head.

"Torchwood. Is it that time again?" Tommy spoke with a marked Mancunian accent but his voice was strong and clear. "Hello, Toshiko." He smiled up at her and it was great to see her smile back. Those two have a real connection though they've only met twice before.

Ianto went off to get breakfast started while Suzie and I greeted Tommy. He was strong enough to sit up by now and five minutes later we were walking up to the Board Room. The table had been set with the good china that I hadn't seen for years; Alex Hopkins had bought it, deciding we needed something other than chipped mugs for visitors. Ianto bustled in with a pot of tea and a jug of coffee.

"Tommy, this is Ianto Jones. He's just joined and looks after us."

"I try my best." Ianto smiled at Tommy and poured him a cup of tea.

"And he looks good in a suit," I continued, grinning.

Ianto frowned at me. "Careful, that's harassment, sir," he replied before leaving the room. It was great to see him grin like the boy he was.

Breakfast was a lively meal, lots of chatter as we updated Tommy. He never asked a lot of questions but liked to know of major world events. We avoided talk of wars and other conflicts, the poor bloke had had enough of that back in 1918. Toshiko stuck close to him and went off with him and Owen to complete the next battery of tests. Suzie stayed to help Ianto clear up so it was left to me to check the Rift predictor and the news websites. Nothing on any of them which was reassuring.

"Anything?" asked Suzie, standing behind me where I sat at Toshiko's desk.

"Nope. All clear for once." I was surprised when she frowned, I'd have thought she'd have been happy that we were in for a quiet day. "You expecting something?" I joked.

"No, of course not. Just hoping to get out of doing the budget." She rolled her eyes and went to her desk. Strange, somehow I didn't think she was telling me the truth.

"Sir, I'll go up to the Tourist Office for an hour or two," said Ianto, coming up to stand beside me. "The Tenquoo are checking over their ship and will stay where they are for now."

"Okay. Maybe I'll go and have a word, when I've seen Tosh and Tommy off."

He went off to the cog door, a sheaf of files and papers under his arm. I wandered to the office and was there when Toshiko brought Tommy in. He'd been given the all clear and was dressed in trousers, shirt and sweater and had a mac over his arm. He would fit in anywhere dressed like that.

"We're going out, Jack," said Toshiko, still grinning. "Back by seven."

"Okay. Have fun, you two." I got up to join them at the door. Toshiko went to get her jacket and bag and I slipped Tommy a couple of twenties; a man shouldn't have to rely on a woman to pay for everything.

"Thanks, Jack," said Tommy. "See you later." He half waved, half saluted and then was gone.

I felt quite deflated for some unknown reason. I thought of joining Ianto upstairs but then remembered Owen's medical advice and decided against it; being close to the boy was too tempting. Suzie was in the Board Room with the dreaded budget papers spread out around her and Owen was clearing up the medical bay. Deciding that I should check on the Tenquoo I went down to the lower levels and into the room we'd assigned them.

Commander Tisguard had set his crew to cleaning the spaceship and moveable items were placed neatly on the floor around it while sounds of scrabbling could be heard from inside. I sat cross-legged on the floor and chatted to the Commander. He allowed me to examine some of the ship's items and explained their uses but was more interested in the Rift and quizzed me on it. The Tenquoo had never come across it before so it must have been a single, random opening that had taken their ship. Having reassured him, again, that we would do all we could to return them he left me and went to check on his crew.

After lunch – Chinese which the three Tenquoo did not like much – Ianto and I took them back to the room and started building some living quarters for them. They couldn't stay in the ship for much longer without it starting to smell so we made nest boxes and little runs to give them exercise. We were getting quite inventive – and silly – when Suzie called me on the comms.

"_Jack, there's been a murder. We need to go." _

"There's something seriously weird about the way she responds to murders," said Ianto quietly.

I shrugged; we're all a little weird. "I'm coming," I said to Suzie and got up. "Stay here and finish this," I told Ianto, resting a hand on his head. His hair is so soft. "Won't be long."

* * *

_It has been pointed out that, in strict adherence to the Doctor Who timeline, the Royal Hope Hospital 'incident' takes place later in Torchwood's series one. I was going to upset the timeline a lot more but have now decided not to so I hope you will be able to ignore the incident's inclusion earlier than it should have been. I shall be leaving Jack with the team and carrying on until Gwen joins them._


	29. Chapter 29

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Twenty Nine

"All right, what have we got?" I asked when I made it back to the main level of the Hub.

"Old lady murdered at home," said Owen. He was sitting at Toshiko's desk and looked very strange behind the bank of screens. "Suzie wants to go and use that damned Glove again," he continued.

"Where is she?" I was heading for my office. While I sympathise with Owen about the Glove, we need to know more about it. Who knows, we may be grateful for it someday. And if we have to test it we may as well as use murder victims.

"Loo. Jack, you going to want me with you?"

I thought about this as I strapped on my Webley and reached for my greatcoat. He wasn't really needed and we were short staffed with Toshiko out with Tommy. "No, you stay here and keep an eye on things. Ianto's downstairs finishing off with the Tenquoo. He won't be long."

Owen looked round me – I was now standing beside him – in the direction of the steps leading up to the loos. Obviously whatever he had to say was private. "You manage all right last night?"

I had to laugh, he sounded like some B-movie spiv. "If you're talking about me and Ianto, yes thanks. We found other things to do. We got quite inventive -"

"No! For Christ's sake, no!" He held both hands over his ears. "Just go."

"He all right?" asked Suzie as she reached the foot of the steps. "I'll get my coat and then I'm ready."

"Just you and me, today. That okay?" I called after her as she went to her desk.

"Sure." She shrugged into her coat and picked up the box with the Glove in it. "Owen, make sure the police know we're coming."

"Already done. I do know how to do this, you know." Owen threw a dirty look her direction.

"Fine. Take an equipment box, Jack, makes us look more professional."

"Yes, ma'am."

She chuckled, a nice throaty one that made me smile. We were out of the base and into the SUV in minutes, well practiced at quick entrances and exits. That made me think of Ianto and I laughed out loud. He has that affect on me.

"What's so funny?" Suzie was using her PDA to check on the police reports of the woman; she didn't trust Owen to relay them to us.

"Nothing. Who's this woman?" I asked, drumming my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as I waited for my turn on the roundabout.

"Sarah Pallister, seventy two, a retired school mistress. Stabbed at home. Police have no clues as yet but it's probably a burglary gone wrong."

"Okay. Same procedure as before then." I accelerated as I finally got a chance to get onto the roundabout.

"Yep."

Following her directions, I drove to one of the older parts of Cardiff and a row of terraced houses. Only two police cars this time and an ambulance. The police officers and paramedics were grouped around the front gate and looked up as we parked and got out of the vehicle. They did not look pleased to see us.

"Torchwood," I said, pushing through them. The equipment box was useful for more than looking professional; it made them move when I swung it around and 'accidentally' caught them on the shins. "Sorry."

The house was a typical late nineteenth century two-up, two-down with a passage running front to back and narrow, steep stairs. Sarah Pallister was in the front room, slumped in an armchair, her chest and stomach bloody from knife wounds. Suzie closed the front curtains and began setting up so I nipped through to the back kitchen to check that all the emergency personnel had left. We didn't want anyone seeing what we were doing, be a bit difficult to explain.

"All clear," I reported coming back into the front room. "I suppose I'm going to do the talking again."

"Won't hurt you and you're better than that prat Owen." Suzie had the Glove on her hand and was jiggling it about to get a connection or whatever she calls it.

"Maybe I should do that," I said, "I ought to know what it feels like." I was standing in front of the woman. Suzie was behind her and I saw her face go as white as the corpse's. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's better I do this. We don't have time for you to experiment." She kept her face averted and her hair hung down obscuring her expression. Definitely her time of the month, must have cramps, but she wasn't usually this shy about it. "I've got it."

The Glove's little blue lights came on and she placed her hand behind the dead woman's head. I got on my knees, setting a scanner to record everything. The woman opened her eyes and looked round wildly.

"Sarah, you've been hurt. I need to know who did this to you." I thought it would be a good opener but it didn't get me far.

"Woman. Strange woman," she gasped, trying to move her head but Suzie held her still.

"You didn't know her?"

"No. She said she was with the Council." The woman looked down at her dress. "All this blood. Where's the doctor? Where's the ambulance?"

And that's all she said for the next one minute and fifty two seconds. We kept her 'alive' for just two minutes but it was one long rant that didn't stop no matter what I tried. Brilliant!

"She's gone," said Suzie finally, removing the Glove and packing it away. "That was great, a full two minutes."

"Of rubbish." I stood up and turned off the scanner, returning it to my pocket.

"Doesn't matter what she says, that's not what we're here for." Suzie was on her feet. She picked up the equipment box and led the way out. I followed her, angry at myself for something but I didn't know what.

"Well that was bloody useless," said Owen when we walked into the Hub. He had been watching the recording, relayed live from the scanner. "Where's the ambulance? Where's the ambulance?" he said in a falsetto cannily like the dead woman's and waved his hands about melodramatically.

"Shut it." I dumped the scanner on Toshiko's desk. "Leave that for Tosh to go through tomorrow."

I went to my office and shut the door. Sometimes I need some alone time and this was one of them. I had no idea what had unsettled me. I sat at the desk, still in my greatcoat, and thought back over the day's events but couldn't come up with anything odd. The dead woman? Hardly, I'd seen enough dead bodies in my time and in much worse state than her. The Tenquoo? Nope, they were fun to have around. Tommy Brockless? Another pleasant part of the day although putting him back in his box tonight would not be easy. A tap at the door brought me out of my reverie: Ianto holding up a mug of coffee. I waved him in.

"Everything all right, sir?" he asked when he'd put the coffee on the desk.

"Yeah. Yeah, just trying to remember something." I smiled up at him.

"I was going to order some food. Owen says the soldier, uh, Tommy, won't want anything when he gets back. You hungry?"

I thought about it as I stood up and took off my greatcoat. He was beside me straightaway to take it from me. "You don't have to do that, you know."

"I know." He was scrutinising the coat and spotted some blood on the front from where I'd knelt in front of Sarah Pallister. "I'll get rid of this mark. Supper?"

"Please." He smiled and went off taking the coat with him.

Owen appeared in the doorway before I'd had a chance to sit down. "You remembered I'm off this weekend?" he asked.

"Vaguely." I reached for the coffee and took a sip. "Doing something special?"

"Yeah, as it happens. Going to London." He didn't seem particularly happy about it but Owen is rarely happy about anything.

"Okay." He went off again, leaving me alone to enjoy the coffee. I deliberately let my thoughts drift, thinking of anything other than Torchwood, and smiled at images of Ianto and me exploring Cardiff Castle. He had listened so intently to the guide and looked so cute.

We had our early supper – it was not six o'clock – of pizzas in the work area. The Tenquoo were too tired to join us. They had been exploring the runs and other 'toys' Ianto and I had rigged up for them all afternoon and were exhausted, curled up and sleeping in their nest boxes. Bless. As we ate, Owen ribbed Suzie about the Glove some more and she started on about his Weevil study. Ianto and I sat on the sofa and ignored them. I was seeing how long it would take him to react to the pressure of my thigh against his: he held out longer than I expected. We were all still sitting there, pizzas eaten, when the lift started to descend and Toshiko and Tommy appeared. They were laughing and standing under an umbrella; must be raining again.

"Hey, you two," called Suzie, "have a good time?" She got up from Toshiko's desk and started gathering up the rubbish.

"Yes, thanks." Toshiko was grinning as she and Tommy joined us. They took off their wet coats and hung them up.

"There's some pizza if you'd like some," offered Ianto, also on his feet, collecting the mugs.

"I'm full," said Tommy with a smile. "We had fish and chips in that big posh place."

"Harry Ramsdens," explained Toshiko. "How's it been today?"

"Quiet," I replied before Owen could say anything. He always liked to make out that he had been run off his feet and I wasn't having Toshiko made to feel guilty on this one happy day of her year. "Owen, you'd better get set up."

"All right." He went, reluctantly.

Suzie and Ianto were on their way to the kitchen with the pizza boxes and mugs which left Toshiko, Tommy and me. We chatted about their day which had been spent walking round the Bay before seeing a movie. I could imagine them sitting in the dark, neither willing to make the first move to even hold hands. Toshiko was glancing anxiously at her PC by now - she gets withdrawal symptoms if away from it for too long – so I took Tommy into the office and we had our usual chat. Every leader over the past eighty nine years has chatted to him and made copious notes, attempting to judge his state of mind. What was clear was how well he had recovered from his shellshock; his disorientation had diminished with each passing year, the only hiccup was in 1931 when he had been told of his father's death. This year was no different. He was bright and cheerful, so different from the shellshocked soldiers I had known back on the Somme. I smiled as I thought about how much we had in common; we'd both been soldiers on the Western Front. Luckily, he didn't know this as I'd not been around on the days he had been revived until the late nineties.

"It's time, Jack." Owen was in the open doorway.

"Back to sleep then," said Tommy amiably. He never made a fuss when he had to return to stasis which made it immeasurably easier for the rest of us. He stood up and went off with Owen to change into a surgical gown.

Ianto came into the office. "He just goes back in the drawer now?" he asked, hanging up my cleaned greatcoat.

"Uh huh. Until next year." I stood up. "You okay about that?"

"Of course, sir. Are there others like him?"

"Not that we wake up every year. There are others in stasis, and for good reasons. Most of them are dangerous and need to be contained." We were in the work area now and Suzie wandered over to join us.

Toshiko was looking on anxiously from her chair. She disliked this part of the process but I trusted her to be professional. Soon, Owen and Tommy returned and we all went into the medical bay. Tommy lay on the examination table and Owen administered a sedative. As Tommy drifted into unconsciousness, Toshiko held his hand and spoke to him softly. I think we all felt like intruders so huddled together in a corner as far away from the table as we could get without actually leaving. A few minutes later, Tommy was asleep and Owen injected the chemicals and five minutes after that Tommy was in stasis. Toshiko went back to her desk with Suzie while the rest of us manhandled Tommy into the lift then went to the morgue to put him in the drawer where he would stay for another twelve months. I left Owen instructing Ianto in how to monitor the drawer over the next forty eight hours while he was off. Back on the main level, Toshiko was putting her coat on.

"I told Tosh to go home," explained Suzie. "I'm heading out too."

"Good idea, it's been a long day." I gave Toshiko a hug. "See you in the morning."

I went to the office. More paperwork had appeared on my desk during the day including the budget file. How I hate the sight of that file. I put it to one side and jotted some notes in Tommy's file. Noises from the medical bay told me Owen and Ianto were clearing up in there. Before long, Owen was by his desk getting his things together.

"See you Monday," he called and with a wave was gone.

I was still looking after him, not wanting to finish the paperwork, when Ianto came into view. He still looked sharp in his suit and I got up and walked out to join him. "Ianto, get your coat. We're going out." I crossed to Toshiko's PC and set the remote alert to my wrist strap.

"It's Friday night, Jack. Everywhere'll be busy."

"So? Only need a little bit of space for you and me." I moved closer to him.

"Do we have to?"

"Not if you don't want to." I put my hands in my pockets. "What would you like to do?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. Something quiet?"

"Not your room then?" I teased. Neither of us held back when we were in the throes of passion.

"No. Not yet anyway." He smiled his private little smile. "A walk?"

"Okay."

With coats on we ventured out. It was blustery but the rain had stopped and we walked round the Bay. There were a few other people around, spilling out of the bars or walking purposefully. Only we were walking for the sake of it.

"It's good to get some fresh air," said Ianto, leaning against the railing near the Pierhead Building.

"You not been out today? You should, if only for an hour or so."

"There's been a lot to do."

We stayed there quietly, watching the boats bob up and down on the water. It was very peaceful and neither of us felt the need to talk. I had an idea then and took his hand, leading him to the Assembly Building. Without explaining, I used my access code to enter and – after checking in with Barry on security – took the lift up the clock tower.

"Where are we going?" Ianto asked as we walked up the stairs to the roof.

"One of my favourite places. Come and see your city." I opened the door and ushered him out before me. I went right up to the parapet and leaned out. "Just look at that view," I said, gesturing to the Bay and the city laid out below.

"Very nice. Can we go back now?" He was lurking well back from the edge, pressed against the mini-spire.

"You can't see from there. Come here."

"I'm fine where I am, thank you."

"Don't be silly." I dragged him over to stand beside me. "There, what do you think?"

"Like I said, very nice." He took a step backwards.

"Are you afraid of heights?"

"No, I'm afraid of falling from them." He took another few steps back.

"Sorry. I love it up here, thought you would too."

"It's not that, Jack," he replied immediately, hand on my arm. "I like the views but I'd just rather not get so close to the edge."

We stayed up there for another half an hour, looking out over Cardiff. I wrapped him in my arms – and coat – and we stayed as far back from the edge as we could and worked our way round the four sides. The best view was over the Bay and that was the one we came back to finally. When even I was getting chilly, we went back down and returned to the Hub. Then we went to bed - together.

* * *


	30. Chapter 30

_Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed and put this story on alert, it is much appreciated._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty

That Saturday morning everyone felt down, a reaction to seeing Tommy Brockless the day before I think. He's such a nice bloke and it was painful to think of him frozen in the morgue. That's why I was grateful when a couple of Weevils popped their heads up from the sewers in Pontcanna, it gave us something else to think about. A nurse on a smoke break had spotted them at the back of St Winefride's Hospital and run back into the building screaming. Toshiko picked it up on the police channels and Suzie and I shot off to deal with them. We were cutting through Grangetown when Suzie sighed and looked out of the side window.

"What?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road and the number eight bus that looked like it would pull out in front of me.

"I could have had another hour in bed and let you pick me up."

It was then I realised that we were passing her block of flats. "Late night?" I grinned and finally got round the bus.

"Yeah, bloke called Steve."

"Any good?" I crossed Penarth Road and gunned the engine past some slow moving cars up Clare Road and into Riverside.

"Not bad. Bit full of himself." She looked down at her PDA and opened the comms. "Any more for us, Tosh?" she asked.

"_I've got the police to hold off,"_ came over the comms. _"They insisted on sending a couple of patrol cars but they'll stay back and not interfere. The Weevils don't appear to have moved. They're still by the bike sheds." _

"Ohhh, the bike sheds! Are they making out, Tosh?" I said and was pleased when she laughed, she needed a lift more than the rest of us.

"_Can't tell. If they are, don't join in." _

"Hey, I have better taste!"

"You sure about that?" said Suzie with an arch look in my direction.

"Perfectly, thank you." What did she take me for, I have some standards. We were closing on the hospital now and I brought my mind back to the job. "Standard protocol for these two," I told her, driving down the service road to the back of the building. I parked just beyond the police cars.

"Okay. Tosh, we're going in."

We both jumped out of the SUV, Weevil kits in our pockets and reached for our guns and ran to the bike sheds. And guess what … the Weevils were making out! I was in the lead and stopped abruptly when I realised what was going on. Suzie managed to avoid me and skidded to a stop by my side, her mouth open. After a beat, she made sure the scanner was picking up the action.

"_Are they doing what I think they're doing?"_ asked Toshiko slowly. The scans were obviously getting through to the Hub.

"Uh huh." I couldn't find anything to say so stayed quiet, watching. It was strangely arousing which is what finally brought me to my senses. "Come on, let's get them while their attention is elsewhere."

After years of working together, Suzie and I co-ordinated our approach and had both Weevils sedated, hooded and manacled in just a few minutes without any injury to ourselves. I walked back to the SUV and waved to the police officers. "We'll be done in a few minutes," I told them blithely. They didn't look pleased, reckon they'd prefer to have a riot than deal with us.

With the Weevils loaded in the back, I drove back out onto the road and headed to the Bay. "Make sure Owen gets to see the scans on Monday. Don't think we've ever had footage of Weevils at it before."

"I can understand why. Not a pretty sight." She closed the scanner and stared off into the distance.

We drove in silence for a while then I broached the subject of the Glove. "I was reading your report on the last ressurection this morning. You really think two minutes is the limit?"

"Probably. That's the most I've got with any subject." She turned in her seat to look at me. "You said something about trying the Glove yourself."

"Hey, I know it's your project," I said immediately, not wanting to upset her. "I just wondered what it felt like."

She said nothing for several minutes. I thought she wasn't going to reply at all. She's good at that. Me, I can't keep my mouth shut and have to fill a silence. I was about to say something when she spoke.

"It's a strange feeling. Maybe you should try it, but an animal would be best to start on. Want me to set something up?"

"Please." I smiled at her, grateful she had seen my point of view without me having to make it an order. I valued her too much to piss her off unnecessarily. "How are things generally?" I asked, thinking back to the day before and some of her strange reactions.

"Fine, why?"

"No reason," I assured her, having heard the hardening of her voice. She can be touchy. "Thought I'd try being a regular boss."

She laughed then. "Oh God, Jack, please don't! We like you just the way you are."

Back in the Hub, we dumped the Weevils downstairs, in separate cells. After checking in with Toshiko I took one look at the budget file and turned tail. I just couldn't face it. Instead I went to the Tourist Office where I knew a certain Welshman was working. After checking there were no visitors, I opened the secret door and walked through. Ianto was tapping at the computer keyboard and after a swift glance to see who had come through turned back to what he was doing.

"If you want me, sir, I'll be with you in just a minute."

"Okay."

I wandered round, marvelling again at how professional it looked. It wasn't as slick as the one we'd passed through at Cardiff Castle – have to go through it to get in and out there, a double chance for them to sting visitors for their dosh – but it was well stocked, neat and tidy. I flicked through a brochure on Snowdonia and wondered what it would be like to take a holiday, there or anywhere. I hadn't had one in the past decade, maybe longer.

"How can I help?" asked Ianto. He was standing behind the counter looking at me, eyebrows raised and a little smile on his lips. Just too cute.

"Stay right where you are." I dumped the brochure and grabbed him, pulling him towards me across the counter and gave him a smacker right on the lips. "That's better." I brushed down the lapels of his suit and smiled at him.

"Was that all you wanted, sir?" He was calm and unruffled on the surface but I was getting to know him better. Underneath the buttoned up exterior he was simmering with lust. Well, that was what I hoped. "Because if it is, I have some work to do."

"So do I," I sighed, leaning on the counter, "just don't want to do it."

"The budget?"

I sighed again. "Yep." He looked at me kindly and reached out to my face, stroking my cheek. "That's nice," I said, leaning my head into his hand.

"I was removing a dirty mark." His hand went back in his pocket. "You may want to look at the amount of Retcon that's being used," he went on, "seems a bit excessive to me."

"Really? You've looked at the budget papers?" This was news to me. Far as I knew, Suzie did all the donkey work, though she had said something about Ianto helping keep track of orders.

"Just glanced through them." He changed the subject. "If you're not busy this afternoon, I could do with your advice about the archives."

"What's the problem?"

"No problem. I've just discovered another pile of folders with that unreadable handwriting, the one you helped me with before."

"Oh." Not what I had been hoping. Why couldn't he want me down in the dingy room for some hanky-panky?

"And while we're down there …" He raised the one eyebrow again and smiled, not the little polite smile but the sexy one.

"Just tell me when," I agreed immediately. "I'll get the budget stuff done and be all yours for as long as you want me."

We kissed again and then I let him go. I didn't want to, but I heard the handle of the public door behind me begin to turn. I slammed my hand on the lock so whoever it was couldn't get in and went back to finish the kiss properly.

"Go!" he said, pushing me away.

The secret door opened for me as the handle of the public door rattled once more, some tourist was in desperate need of advice. Running down the stairs I was in a happy mood and started to whistle as I entered the Hub. Toshiko looked over and smiled.

"Someone's happy."

"Yeah. How are you getting on, Tosh?"

I pulled Owen's chair over and sat beside her. She started talking about work – the scans we made when using the Glove the day before, the analysis of the Tenquoo's ship, the search for a Rift opening to send them back and all the other hundred and one things she has on the go. I started to ask about Tommy but then thought better of it. Let her remember her day in peace, she didn't need me trampling all over her memories.

"Jack," said Suzie, appearing from the medical bay, "I've set up an experiment for the Glove if you're not busy."

"I'm free!" My best John Inman impersonation drew wry smiles but little else. I looked from Suzie to Toshiko and back again. "Laughing at the boss's jokes is good for your career, you know."

"Have you been watching _The Office_ again?" asked Toshiko.

"That's it! He was like this in the car this morning," added Suzie.

"Bad sign."

"When you two have finished talking about me," I said with as much gravitas as I could muster, "let us adjorn to the medical bay." That got them giggling at least, I could hear them as they followed me.

Using the Ressurection Glove is weird, nothing prepared me for the feeling. Suzie had 'obtained' a mangy cat for my trial and it lay in solitary splendour on the examination table. After some instruction from Suzie, I put the Glove on and wiggled it about trying to get a connection. There isn't a switch to turn on, it's as she said once, it has to grant the wearer access. I did get the little blue lights to come on and the cat woke up – for all of five seconds. No matter how much I tried after that, I couldn't get it to work. Toshiko had been watching and was reluctantly persuaded to try it too. It didn't work at all for her which I think suited her down to the ground. She's never liked the Glove, right from when we fished it out of the Bay.

"Seems you're the only one it likes," I admitted when Suzie started to clear up. "You okay to carry on working with it?"

"Sure. It could have lots of uses, Jack."

I couldn't see many but let it go. Finally making it back to my office, I picked up the wretched budget file and got stuck in. Lunch would be coming soon and I wanted to be free for the afternoon in the archives. My plans went awry again as a streak of red crossing the floor resolved itself into Commander Tisguard who proceeded to shin up the leg of the desk. Agile little blighters, these Tenquoo. He chittered and squeaked a bit, agitated by something, and scampered all over the desk getting little footprints over the papers. He finally controlled himself enough to stand on his hind legs balancing against my piece of coral – will it ever be a TARDIS? – and talk to me.

He was excited because using his own ship's scanners he had picked up what he thought was a Rift opening and wanted to know why we hadn't told him. After I checked the information on my PC, I pointed out that it had not matched the energy signature he needed to get back. We had gone through this umpteen times before and I had thought he had understood - obviously not. His shoulders slumped and he was an unhappy Tenquoo. Cheering him up was hard work and I was pleased when lunch arrived – sandwiches and wraps with soup – which diverted his attention; the Tenquoo love their food. The seven of us – his two crew members had been waiting outside my door on guard – settled down to eat.

"Hey, the little blighter's drinking my coffee," exclaimed Suzie, seeing Airman Teep, one of the crew members, with his head in her mug. "Oy, get out!" She batted him away and he rolled and ended up sprawled across the table.

"Careful!" shouted Toshiko who rushed to Teep's aid, lifting him up and checking him for injuries. He just lay in her hand looking up at her and we thought he was seriously hurt until his fellow Airman, Taupe, took one look and explained that he was drunk.

"Drunk? On coffee?" Ianto peered into his mug as if it would answer this mystery in some unfathomable way.

As you can imagine I had an enjoyable half hour testing this out. Taupe was more than happy to drink some of my coffee and was weaving around in a drunken stupour in no time. Commander Tisguard drank more sparingly of the coffee Ianto gave him in a teacup but even he was reeling by the time he had drunk it.

"Isn't it bad enough we have rats sharing lunch with us without making them drunk?" commented Suzie in disgust. She had a point but it was funny seeing the three little Tenquoo unable to stay upright even with four feet to balance on.

"They're trapped on an alien world," I pointed out. "If a sip of coffee makes them happy, why not let them have it."

"You're twisted, Jack Harkness." She put down her plate and walked off.

"What should we do with them?" asked Toshiko, looking anxiously at the three Tenquoo who were sitting balanced against one other making giggly squeaks.

"Leave them to sleep it off," supplied Ianto laconically. "I'll take them downstairs, I was going to the archives anyway." He shot me a glance and I thought I saw him wink but I could have been imagining it. "Perhaps you two would clear up." He scooped up our guests and went.

At half past two I was finally free of queries from Toshiko, phone calls from irritating bureaucrats and had cleared the budget papers. Ianto had been right about the Retcon, it did seem we'd been using it rather liberally so I asked Suzie to investigate. Other than that, the only major change was the addition of Ianto's salary. Feeling virtuous for having sorted all that out, I headed for the archives and my gorgeous Welshman. His appeal was not waning. He was coming to mean as much to me as Estelle and Lucia had and for once I was determined to enjoy it. To hell with caution, who knew what would happen once The Doctor came back. I'd deal with it when it happened and not louse up a promising relationship by fretting about it.

Ianto was in the registry at the desk he had made his own, suit jacket on the back of the chair and tie loosened. The place was much, much tidier than when he had arrived. The filing cabinets were labelled in his neat script and some racking – wonder where that came from? – held more folders that looked like they were waiting attention. Like the rest of the Hub, our out of control filing system was falling under Ianto's spell.

"Tenquoo okay?" I asked as I strolled in.

"Dead to the world. I had no idea coffee would do that to them." He paused from rifling through some papers and looked up at me. "Do you think it's the caffeine?"

"Probably." Moving closer I put my hands on his shoulders and started kneading the muscles under the crisp white shirt.

"Ooh, that's good," he murmured. "Just a bit lower. Yeah, that's it."

I continued the massage, digging deep into knotted muscle and loving the feel of his body beneath my fingers. He began to moan softly and bending down, I kissed the top of his head. This was a great beginning. My hands slipped down his front, one found a nipple and one went lower, across firm abs.

"Jack," he murmured almost in my ear, "the CCTV."

Removing my hands from his pliant torso for a moment, I used the wrist-strap to shut off the cameras and then returned to my explorations. There was no need for words as I caressed his flesh, divested him of his clothes and sucked and licked and generally gave him a very good time. He was lying on the floor, eyes closed and that lovely smile on his lips, totally relaxed, when I was done. A good hard shag is satisfying, but pleasuring Ianto like this came a close second.

We stayed in the archives for the rest of the afternoon and even did some work. He really had got some files he wanted me to look at.

* * *


	31. Chapter 31

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty One

After an uninterrupted afternoon, we were blessed with a quiet evening as well. Suzie and Toshiko went home early, no point in keeping them unnecessarily and it was Saturday night, they might have plans. The Tenquoo were nursing hangovers and wanted to stay quietly in their room. Ianto left them some fruit and filled up their water containers to see them through the night.

"What about us?" I asked from my spot on the couch.

I was sipping a refreshing mug of coffee – a hint of orange in it this time – and watching Ianto as he sat at Toshiko's desk. I'd shown him how to check the Rift predictor program and he was going through it carefully and methodically. He had a little furrow in his brow – he was concentrating hard – and was wearing the tight T-shirt and jeans.

"What about us?" he countered not looking up.

"Go out? Stay in? Go to bed?"

He swung round in the chair and faced me. "How about a movie? Tosh was telling me about the one she and Tommy saw."

Seemed okay to me. What part of being in the dark with Ianto was there not to like? "Where's it on?"

"Red Dragon." He turned back to face the screen. "If I'm reading this right, there's nothing for the next four or five hours."

"Let's do it." I swallowed the last of the coffee and got up.

"Jack," he began and I heard the hesitation in his voice.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Come on, out with it. What were you going to say?"

"Do you ever wear anything else?"

I looked down at my dark blue shirt and wide leg trousers held up by belt and braces. I'd been wearing this for a long time and liked it. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing. I like it, really I do." Ianto got up and moved close, putting his hands on my chest. "I just wondered, well, you've got a great arse and these trousers are a bit loose." His hands were on my butt now. "You'd look great in jeans."

"I have got some. Somewhere." In a moment of weakness, I'd bought a couple of pairs thinking they'd be useful but I'd hardly worn them. Used to be I'd follow fashion like everyone else but I'd given up a while back, preferring a classic look.

"They're on your bunk. Go and change while I rinse the mugs and get my jacket." He patted my arse and pushed me towards the office.

I was halfway through the hatch before I realised he had arranged all this. But what the heck, I didn't mind being organised occasionally; it was good to let go of the reins and let someone else take charge once in a while. The jeans were waiting for me, black ones, with a clean white T-shirt and a leather flying jacket that must have been in the wardrobe for twenty years or more. He had decided exactly what he wanted me to wear. I changed into the clothes and stood in front of the mirror surveying myself from all angles. The jeans were tight and left nothing to the imagination but did wonders for my arse which showed under the short jacket. Nice. As I exited the office I posed for Ianto who was waiting there. His slow smile and appreciative lingering gaze on my rear end told me he liked what he saw.

"You really shouldn't hide that," he said, craning his neck to look round me as I came up beside him.

"Didn't you get enough of it this afternoon?" I'd been as naked as him the entire time.

"I'll never get enough of it." The joking tone was gone, this was heartfelt. We kissed gently.

"Come on." I put the Rift alert on remote and then grabbed his hand, leading him onto the invisible lift. I kept a firm hold on him and we were pressed together as we reached the Plass. "Ready or not, Cardiff, here we come!" I proclaimed.

The cinema was busy but we found seats in the back row on the right with an uninterrupted view of the screen. Not that I planned to watch much of the movie, I had action of my own to pursue. We sorted ourselves out: jackets off, drinks in the containers and the extra large tub of popcorn on Ianto's lap. I was imagining where my hand would end up when it missed the tub in the dark – gotta happen, right? – when Ianto suddenly went still. He was staring at the central block of seats but there were so many people there I couldn't tell who had attracted his attention.

"What is it?" I asked, arm along the back of the seats and round his shoulders.

"My sister!" he hissed.

"Which one?" I was interested now and scanned the people. Mostly I could the backs of heads but some faces were in profile.

"This end of the twelfth row from the front."

Even under duress my Ianto was precise. I counted up and saw a dark haired woman and a bigger, fair haired man. The woman turned her head to talk to the man and I caught regular features. Okay, but not as attractive as her brother.

"Want to go say hi?"

"No!!" He grabbed my leg and I had to stifle a yelp as his fingers dug into my thigh. "Don't look their way. God, I hope the lights go down soon." He was rigid for the next few minutes until the lights dimmed then he relaxed a little. The adverts started and the sound covered his next words from all but my ears. He muttered, "When the film's over we get out fast, okay?"

This was bothering me a bit now. Why was he afraid of being seen here? She knew he was back in Cardiff, they had met only a couple of days earlier. The only reason I could come up with I didn't like. "Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" I asked.

He looked at me and even in the gloom I was able to see his confused expression. "She doesn't know."

"About me?"

"No, about me. Being bi. She's only seen me with girls before and I don't …" His voice tailed off.

The silence grew between us. It was clear he was ashamed – a bit at least – of being with me and that offended me. On the other hand, the twenty first century still liked to attach labels to people and stigmatised those with the 'wrong' ones. I understood his reluctance at the same time as disliking it.

"I'm sorry, Jack." He whispered the words. "I will tell her, if you want me to."

"I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for," I said eventually. "But I would like to meet her, sometime."

"Thanks, I don't deserve you." His head was resting on my shoulder now and any irritation I had been feeling disappeared. He was very young and had been through a lot, there was no need to add to his burden by forcing the issue now.

"Very true." I kissed the top of his head and he took that a sign that all was well. Which it was, more or less.

The adverts droned on interminably and then there were trailers for other movies. Finally, the lights went all the way down and the main feature began. I watched it with one eye while cuddling Ianto. There was a hero who ran about a lot amid explosions looking for some kind of Government secret with guys dressed all in black chasing him. Seems the only place the hero could hide was in the bedrooms of beautiful women. It made no sense but I guess it wasn't supposed to, this was entertainment for the masses who liked spectacle and not much else. Certainly not plot or realism: no one can run around so soon after being shot. Well, except me. With a final crescendo of explosions and long winded explanations the hero won the day – and the woman – and walked off into the sunset. The movie was over.

Ianto had been waiting for this and had our jackets over his arm and was pushing me out into the aisle before the last words were spoken. As soon as we got out of the cinema, he jogged off pulling me with him towards the Plass. He kept looking over his shoulder until we got to the lift. "Phew, missed her." We were standing on the slab, nice and close.

I activated the controls and we started to descend. "I'm not one for hiding in corners, Ianto, you should know that."

"I know, Jack. And I will tell her, it's just … well, I just want to find the right time."

"There's never a right time, Ianto, mostly you just have to bite the bullet." I stepped off the lift and made for the office.

"Are you mad at me?" He was still standing on the slab, and I turned to look at him. He was so young.

"No. Just a bit disappointed."

I carried on to the office, throwing the jacket on the visitor's chair and sitting behind the desk. It had been a good evening but it could have been great. Sitting there, watching Ianto move around making coffee, I tried to analyse my feelings, not something I do very often. Was I putting too much importance on this one incident? Maybe. What guy didn't fight shy of introducing a lover to his family. Was I was ultra sensitive because of my uniqueness? Probably. Deciding I was making more of it than I needed to, I went out and met Ianto as he came up the steps with the coffee mugs in his hand.

"Ianto, sorry I made a big deal out this. Whatever you decide is fine by me."

"I am going to tell her. When I see her next."

"Okay."

We drank the coffee right there, me in Toshiko's chair checking up on alerts and police reports and Ianto leaning on my shoulder watching and learning. Nothing to concern us was happening anywhere in Cardiff right then. Taking Ianto onto my knee, we watched the morning's footage of the Weevils making out and compared technique, starting to experiment ourselves. A rhythmic buzz brought our attention back to the PC.

"What's that?" asked Ianto.

"Not sure. Let's open this window … Ah." On one of the screens, Toshiko's program to find a Rift opening suitable for the Tenquoo had found a possible match. In a little over fourteen hours, they could be going back.

"Shall I call Tosh?"

"No, there's nothing we can do now. I'll send her and Suzie a text telling them to be in by nine tomorrow morning, that'll be plenty of time to get ready." I kept hold of Ianto, not wanting him to slip away from me now.

"I'd better tell Commander Tisguard." He seemed determined to leave me.

"Let's hold back on that. We don't want to raise his hopes unnecessarily." I cuddled a bit closer, resting my head on his shoulder. "Let's go to bed."

We lay facing one another in the big bed in Ianto's room. Finding ways to please one another these past couple of days without actually shagging had been fun and I felt closer to this boy as a result. He wasn't sleepy and neither was I; we lay, contented, and looked at one another. Running a finger down the side of his face, I wondered what he would think if I told him I couldn't die, that I had lived for over a hundred years. That I was a grandfather. No doubt he'd be horrified, any sane person would be. I suppose I had been pretty lucky that this team hadn't found out; my few deaths had been when I was alone and I'd purged the archives. Hopefully they'll never need to find out. The Doctor will be here soon and then I'll be cured, able to live out a normal life. With Ianto. Wow, hadn't thought that far ahead, but why not?

"What's so amusing?"

"Umm?" Ianto voice had broken into my daydreams of a life with him and I was startled for a moment.

"You're smiling. What's amusing you?"

"Nothing special. Just thinking back over today, it's been good."

"Until I messed it up." He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, arm behind his head. "I'm really sorry, Jack."

"How have you been able to keep it secret?" I rested a hand on his chest, running my fingers through his chest hair before moving lower.

"Not sure." He paused then went on, "Had a gang of friends at school, girls and boys, no one really thought anything of it. Only people I ever brought home were Rachel from uni and Lisa. Mum and Rhi assumed I was straight and I let them. It was easier."

"I understand."

"Was it like that for you?" He turned his head to look at me and I could see he wanted me to say yes. It was tempting to lie, to make him feel better, but I had enough secrets.

"No, my folks were okay about it." There were no labels back when I was growing up, everyone could love where they chose.

"You were lucky," he sighed. "If I'd met Tom over here it would have been different. He was … special."

"This the guy you met in Greece?" I had noted the wistful smile on his face and felt a pang of jealousy. This boy may be young but he had lived, had relationships that meant – mean – a lot to him. "Should I be jealous?" I asked jokingly but with a touch of concern.

He chuckled. "No, though maybe … maybe you're a bit alike." It seemed this was a new notion as he went quiet as he thought about it.

"How?"

"You're both older than me." _And how_, I thought, but said nothing. "You've both taught me so much." Ianto shifted back onto his side to face me, an earnest expression on his face. "I was fresh out of uni when I met Tom and so ignorant. He showed me a whole new world, of history and literature and good food and music and ... everything. All the stuff I'd missed out on growing up on a council estate."

"Sounds like a nice guy." I was getting more jealous of this Tom by the minute; he obviously still meant a lot to Ianto. Yet he had taken a raw youth and educated him and made him into the Ianto I knew today, so I was a little bit grateful too. Just a little bit.

"He was." Ianto smiled, that sweet small smile. "Those months in Greece were the best in my life up 'til then."

"What ended it?"

"He moved on, to Turkey and beyond." There was a faraway look in his eyes, like he was imagining himself there - with Tom.

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"He didn't want me. I wanted to stay with him but he … he said no." Ianto smiled and half shrugged. "Said I had to make a start on my life, get a job, a career. I ended up at Torchwood and met Lisa. The rest you know."

"I'm glad you came back. Can't understand Tom, though. How could he let you go?" I had a hand on Ianto's crotch by now and I squeezed gently.

"He always had a new boy, every country he went to. I found out later when I checked up on him. He picked up boys like me, on their own without much money and looked after us in return for sex. It hurt when I found out, I'd thought I was special, but now …"

"What?"

"Now I'm grateful. He made me someone that you'd be interested in. And you're amazing."

He kissed me then. No meek meeting of lips either, this was rough and demanding and I ended up on my back with him on top. He took charge and all thoughts of Tom were forced from my mind as he explored my body from top to toe, paying particular attention to the bits in between. When I had climaxed, I did the same for him and got the satisfaction of seeing him satiated and totally relaxed for the umpteenth time that day.

We went to sleep in one another's arms.

* * *


	32. Chapter 32

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Two

It was six thirty on Sunday morning and no one was about as I stood outside the Tourist Office entrance enjoying the peace. In the distance a lone church bell was tolling, summoning the faithful to prayer. Otherwise there was hardly a sound, just the waves lapping against the wooden piles on which the boardwalk rests and the calls of a couple of seagulls vying for a dead fish out in the Bay. I had been out checking on a Rift alert but hadn't found anything. It had been a phantom opening, one of those that occasionally appear and don't leave anything or take anything away. We'd need to keep an eye on the area but otherwise it was a false alarm. Having got up early I didn't want to go back inside, better to let Ianto get some sleep. Footsteps coming towards me made me look up.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got your text, thought I'd better get in."

"I said be in for nine, Tosh." I pointedly looked at my watch. "It's not even seven."

She pulled a face at me. "I know but if the Tenquoo do go back we'll lose the chance to study their technology, to find out more about their culture. I want to do as much as I can before they go."

"Okay," I sighed. "But you're leaving early today, you look tired."

"I'm fine!" Her defensive tone told me I'd hit a nerve. She was probably not sleeping, still mooning over Tommy Brockless.

"You don't have to be super-efficient and on top of the world all the time, Tosh. It's okay to be grumpy like the rest of us." I put my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You can always talk to me, Tosh, about anything."

"I know. Thanks." She managed a smile and I folded her into my arms, drinking in the smell of her perfume; Chanel number five, classy.

"Now, let's take five minutes to enjoy the peace and quiet," I told her, releasing her and pulling her to stand beside me by the railing looking out over the water. "Drink in the smell of the sea," I instructed her, taking a deep breath.

"You're quite mad sometimes, Jack, quite mad."

"What are you two doing?" I turned and there was Ianto, dressed in an immaculate suit and tie. What is the matter with everyone, why won't they sleep while they've got the chance?

"Drinking in the smell of the sea," said Tosh with lashings of irony, "according to Jack."

"Smells like dead cats to me. Come inside and have some breakfast." He ushered her into the Tourist Office, both of them laughing.

"You two have no soul," I called after them, strolling up to the door just before it swung closed.

Over scrambled eggs and toast, we compared notes about the film we'd all seen. As I'd imagined, Toshiko had watched every minute of it while Ianto's and my recollection was patchy at best. We were never ones to let good snogging time go to waste. While Ianto cleared up, Toshiko and I examined the predicted Rift opening, due at one forty three that afternoon in Ely. It was still looking a match for the one which had brought us the Tenquoo; they stood a good chance of getting back home. Leaving Toshiko to run a more detailed analysis, I went down to talk to Commander Tisguard. Ianto had volunteered to do the daily check of websites for anything strange that might be of interest to us. He was sitting at Owen's desk so Toshiko could keep an eye on him – she didn't like delegating her work – and wrinkling his nose at the mess. The last thing I heard was him complaining about the sticky keyboard.

The Tenquoo were up and about when I arrived. Being neat, clean creatures they spent a lot of the day grooming - themselves and one another - and that's what they were doing now. I settled down to wait; there was plenty of time. Everything was going well. The team was working efficiently with none of the irritations of old helped by Ianto ensuring everything we needed was always to hand. Suzie, Owen and Toshiko each had projects to pursue, which kept them interested and relieved the boredom of quiet days or running round after Weevils. All in all, we were a happy bunch. A pattering of feet reminded me I was not alone and looking up I saw the Tenquoo had completed their grooming and were now in their red overalls, lined up in front of me and looking expectant.

When I told them the news about the Rift opening they flung their arms in the air and did a little dance. Even Commander Tisguard joined in until he recollected his position and assumed a more dignified stance. We sat and talked about how we were going to send them back. I was anxious that they all understood the risks – they were just as likely to burn up or go somewhere else as to return to their homeworld – and asked each of them, one by one, to confirm they wanted to go. If they wanted to stay, we'd make a home for them. As I had expected they all did; Tisguard was not forcing Teep and Taupe to go along with his decision. Leaving them to ready their ship, I went back to the main level.

"They're for it," I told Toshiko as I climbed the steps. "When you've got a minute, nip down and double check they've got everything they need. Then we'll bring the ship up here."

"Will do. Suzie rang. She'll be another half an hour, something about a stray dog."

"Let's hope she's not killing it," muttered Ianto, eyes staring at the screen in front of him.

"Why would she do that?"

"To use that Glove." Ianto looked round at us. "It just seems too much of a coincidence that when she needs a body one turns up." He shrugged and went back to his work.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Ianto," I assured him. What a mad idea! "One thing Suzie isn't, is a killer. How are you doing with that? The Tenquoo will need some supplies to take with them."

"Almost finished. Another five minutes or so and I'll be done."

"Okay. I have some calls to make."

In the office I checked in with Helen at Flat Holm, feeling guilty for ignoring her these past few days. It was only doing the budget and seeing the sub-account I'd created for her – a well disguised one – that had reminded me. I should go out there more often than I do but it's so depressing I duck out of it whenever I can. We chatted about the inmates and other issues and in a rash moment I promised to drop in on them in the next few days. I was putting the phone down when Suzie appeared, exchanged a word with Ianto and headed in my direction.

"Sorry I'm late, Jack. Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Only a fabulous breakfast. Everything all right?"

"Fine. My neighbour's dog was running loose and I helped him round it up. How are the Tenquoo?" She was leaning lazily against the doorjamb. I thought of Ianto's earlier comment; anyone less like a killer would be hard to find.

"Excited." I stood up and moved round the desk. "They're getting ready to leave. Tosh is down with them now. If you've got time, we could get the ship up here."

"Can it wait ten minutes? Ianto's making me a coffee and I ought to check my e-mails."

"Okay." She went off to her desk and I wandered out to the work area. Ianto was at the coffee machine and I was relieved when I saw him heading my way with the blue and white striped mug. "Thanks, Ianto." I took the drink and drank in the aroma.

"Take a look at this, sir, while I give Suzie her coffee." He gestured to Owen's PC and the open window before walking off.

The screen was open at _Dark Talk_, the site run by loonies who see aliens behind every strange - and not so strange - happening in the UK. Honestly, they see conspiracy and alien intervention everywhere, even reckoned that was behind Harriet Jones' removal as Prime Minister. She had gone suddenly, I admit, but I put that down to political double dealing after the Sycorax affair; she was too popular for her colleagues' peace of mind. Although … maybe it was Yvonne Hartman and her mob, I wouldn't put anything past them, after all, they had shot down the Sycorax ship when it was leaving. Seeing Ianto returning, I brought my mind back to the report on the screen, a biography of a Japanese doctor called Tanizaki.

I sipped my coffee and gestured to the screen. "Why is this so interesting?"

"Because he's in this country." Ianto leant over me and used the mouse to open a link. "See, he's in London."

I was enjoying having Ianto so close – he was practically in my lap – and wasn't paying a great deal of attention to the screen. "So?" I smiled at him when he turned to look at me.

"He's an expert in cybernetics, sir." He said like it should mean something: I shrugged. "When I was looking for ways of … of helping Lisa, he was the man everyone said would be my best chance."

He had my attention now, all my attention. "You think he might be …" I said this slowly, thinking over the awful ramifications.

"If I could get Lisa out, maybe others got out too." His face was serious and concerned and despite it being so close I never felt less like kissing it.

"I see what you mean." My mind was whirling with possibilities, all of them ending in the 'upgrading' of the entire human race. "Damn, this could be serious."

Ianto nodded. "I know, sir. These reports are a bit far-fetched but there have been a number of Cybermen sightings over the past few weeks. I'll do some digging, see what I can find out about Tanizaki. Where he goes, who he sees, that kind of thing."

I hesitated. This was important and potentially devastating for the planet and Ianto was emotionally involved. Should I get Owen, who had the medical background needed, onto this instead? But he wasn't here right now and Ianto was. And Ianto understood the danger of having Cybermen loose, had first hand experience and was a trained archivist. If there was anything to find, he was the one for the job. "Do it," I said finally. "We'll bring the others in when we have more to go on but I want to be kept informed of everything you find."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir, for trusting me." I looked at him, not sure what he meant. "It was only Lisa I wanted to save. I know – now - that they have to be destroyed."

"Good man." I stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. "We need to sort out the Tenquoo but get onto this soon as you can."

"I'll set up a tracker program to pick up his name and anything to do with cybernetics," he said, sitting at the desk. "It'll only take a minute."

I finished my coffee lost in thought. I certainly didn't want to have to deal with a Cyber Army, we just didn't have the resources. If Ianto found anything even vaguely threatening, I'd have to call in UNIT. I remembered the Colonel I'd met at the conference a few weeks before, Mace, that was his name. He had been posted to London and could be useful. Dropping the empty coffee mug on Owen's desk, I went to my office and called JJ at UNIT HQ.

"_Bletherington-Smythe." _

"JJ, Jack Harkness."

"_Captain, what can I do for you?"_ The accent was Eton and Cambridge and very suspicious.

"No need to be so antsy, JJ. I only want a number for Colonel Mace. He's working somewhere in London."

"_I'm not sure, Captain, …" _he began.

"Jack. How many times to I have to tell you, call me Jack! And it's only a telephone number."

There was deep sigh and I could hear computer keys clicking in the background. _"I wouldn't have thought he was your type, Jack." _

"Don't worry, JJ, you're still my main squeeze in UNIT." I chuckled at his outraged splutter. Jolyon Jonathan Bletherington-Smythe was old school, stiff upper lip and sexless. Probably only did his wife once a month if she was lucky – or should that be unlucky?

"_It's 0979 654982. Don't tell him where you got the number."_ The phone was put down before I could thank him. I made a note of the number before I forgot it; I'd call Mace when we had more to go on.

Getting the Tenquoo ship up to the main level was pretty straightforward, Ianto and I hauled it up while Suzie and Toshiko carried the Tenquoo. Setting it down on a couple of equipment boxes placed there for the purpose, we attracted Myfanwy's interest. The past few days she had ignored the Tenquoo as too small to bother with but the ship was another matter. She was only curious but the Tenquoo didn't realise that and raced inside it, powering up their weapons. It was a bit frantic as I sent Myfanwy back to her nest and the others tried desperately to calm the Tenquoo and persuade them not to fire. The ship's armaments were powerful enough to hurt Myfanwy - and us - and that was the last thing we needed.

With Suzie off checking the phantom Rift opening and Ianto up with Myfanwy soothing her with lashings of chocolate, Toshiko and I went over the ship with Commander Tisguard and his crew one last time. They settled down, back in the shipboard routine of trying the engines and navigational equipment. As far as we could tell all was in working order. The three Tenquoo scuttled about, in and out of the ship, requesting this and that, and reporting back on progress. They were so cute. When Ianto reappeared he had a tray with various foodstuffs including, I noted with a smile, some coffee. We played around creating small packages to go in the ship and Teep and Taupe darted in and out stowing them away on Tisguard's orders.

"Lunch," said Ianto later, appearing with pizza boxes.

"Let's take it in the Boardroom," I suggested.

"Probably wise," mused Toshiko, running a scan on the ship once more. "Don't want Myfanwy down here again."

"She won't be down, she's full," replied Ianto, heading up the stairs. Carrying the Tenquoo, I followed him enjoying the view. That is one great Welsh arse.

The food was good and the company entertaining. I was going to miss these visitors and I hoped they would make it back to their own world. They deserved a happy ending. Suzie, being mischievous, offered them some of her coffee but this was immediately declined by all three; they wanted clear heads for the journey to come.

"Time for a photo," said Ianto, brandishing a digital camera.

That caused consternation as the Tenquoo were reluctant to be snapped in their overalls but they were finally persuaded on the understanding that we would also take one when they were back in uniform. In the end, Ianto and Toshiko took quite a few snaps of the Tenquoo, on their own and with us.

"We need to get moving, Jack," Suzie reminded us.

It was twelve forty, only an hour to go. She went to do a final check on the expected Rift opening and Toshiko and I took the Tenquoo back to their ship. They disappeared inside and all we could hear was scrabbling for a bit then they reappeared in their white uniforms and caps. More pictures were taken in front of the ship and then it was time to go.

The Rift opening was on a patch of wasteland near a couple of supermarkets and some playing fields. "Just here," said Toshiko from the back seat.

I drew up to the side, parking so the SUV shielded us from passers-by. "Okay, Ianto, let's get the ship out. Suzie, check for the precise location and, Tosh, bring our little friends."

No one was in the immediate vicinity, too busy stocking up on goodies in M&S to bother about what we were up to. The only people who might have been interested were some kids playing football but they were far enough away not to be a problem. We got the ship out and carried it over to where Suzie was standing, scanner in hand.

"It'll be here. Four metres above here to be precise," she reported, looking at us. "Ten minutes to go."

This was relayed to Commander Tisguard who busied himself giving orders. Teep and Taupe disappeared into the ship and there was a faint rumble as the engines went on stand-by. Taking us by surprise, Commander Tisguard then made a speech thanking us for our hospitality and shaking our hands. It was a very touching little ceremony. Finally it was time to go and they went inside the ship and secured the hatch. Using the hand signals we'd agreed beforehand, Toshiko directed them into position and, right on cue, the opening appeared above us. With only a slight stutter, the engines went up to full power and the ship flew straight into the opening, disappearing in a hazy red and orange light. They were gone.

I hope they made it home, I really do.

* * *


	33. Chapter 33

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Three

The rest of Sunday felt like an anti-climax, even Suzie who had had least to do with the Tenquoo missed them. She and Toshiko set about collating all the information we had gathered on the little aliens and writing up a report. Ianto disappeared to the archives and I sat in my office wondering if Tisguard and his crew had made it home.

Unfortunately, there was no way for us to know. The workings of the Rift were still a mystery. It opened when it chose and things passed through it randomly, to and from places unknown. Decades of research had not helped and it was only Toshiko's genius that had given us the predictor to warn us of openings. All we could do was keep an eye on what came through and deal with the dangerous stuff as best we could. Despite all the equipment, including what we'd scavenged from Canary Wharf, we were no nearer controlling the Rift than Emily Holroyd and her team a hundred years before.

My musings were interrupted by a call from Downing Street with some fatuous question. Dealing with them in double quick time, I turned my attention to the paperwork and e-mails. A few hours a day keeps it under control, that's what I told myself as I ploughed through it. An hour later, I went out to the work area with a handful of part-completed folders for Owen to look at and left them on his desk.

"How's it going, Tosh?" I asked.

"Not quite collated all the findings yet. I need to check a few things." She is so thorough. I could see this would be another report I'd have to wrest from her grasp.

"That's fine, there's no rush. Time you were going home."

"I'm okay, Jack. Actually there was something I wanted to ask you." She swivelled her chair round to face me. "I was talking to Ianto about computerising the archives. You remember, we spoke about it."

"I remember. Thought we agreed to wait a while?"

"We did, but I was thinking that the Reader we found could make the process much faster." The alien device had been for sale on e-bay when Suzie had spotted it. A geek in Hexham was the seller and she and I had paid him a visit, liberating it and a lot of other items. "Okay if we test it on the old files downstairs? I'm hoping it will work as well on handwritten notes as it does on books." The Reader could digitise whole books of text in seconds and then they could be transferred to a PC.

"Okay. Do a test - half a dozen or so - then let me see where you are after that. I know the archives are a mess but -"

"Not any more," she interrupted, beaming as if she'd done all the work herself. "Ianto's doing a fabulous job and it makes my life so much easier."

"That's good to hear." I couldn't help smiling, as pleased as her that our 'protégé' was proving his worth. "But we have limited resources, let's use them wisely. And now you, Toshiko Sato, are going home."

"I'll just finish -"

"No, Tosh. Home. Now." I grabbed the back of her chair and wheeled it away from the desk. "Do I have to throw you out?"

She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. I think she's learnt that one from Owen. "All right, I'll go."

Leaving her to pack up I stood wondering what to do next. I could go and see Ianto in the archives or find something less enjoyable. Before I could decide – Ianto would have won, obviously – Suzie called my name.

"Jack, there's a Hoix loose in Barry. In a kebab shop," she laughed.

"Sounds par for the course." Those things live to eat – anything and everything. "Let's go get him."

After getting my Webley and greatcoat from the office, I joined Suzie and made for the garage. "Ianto," I said into my comms, "Suzie and I are going to Barry to collect a Hoix. Tosh is just on her way home so you're on your own."

"_Okay. Need me to do anything?" _

"No, you're okay. This'll be easy."

"Don't, Jack!" protested Suzie. "Every time you say that something goes wrong."

"What can go wrong! One Hoix against us two? No contest." She groaned, she actually groaned.

"This is going to be a fiasco," she muttered, staring out of the side window as we headed for the Bute Tunnel.

The trip to Barry Island - which, of course, is not an island anymore – was a pleasure. The traffic was sparse, most people preferring to stay at home on this late Sunday afternoon as it was raining, again. Driving along, I let my mind wander back over the decades and remembered the Barry of old, when it HAD been an island. The extension of the docks and the consequent landfill had put paid to that. The only good thing about the place is the Railway Heritage Centre: I have a lot of time for steam trains.

"It's down here," said Suzie, looking up from the PDA which she'd been using to direct me in. "About four hundred metres on the left."

We crawled along, through a rough residential estate far from the gaudy glamour of Whitmore Bay and the amusement park, to a small row of shops. There were four in all, two of them – a betting shop and hairdressers – were closed and had their metal shutters pulled down over the windows. Only a mini-mart and the kebab shop were open. A small crowd of people were standing around giving advice to the two young policemen who were evidently trying to decide how to tackle the Hoix. As we strode over to join the crowd, we could hear the Hoix's snarls.

"Torchwood," I declared and pushed my way through. "Clear this lot back," I ordered the coppers and – bless their cotton socks – they did as they were told for once. Peering through the shop window, I could see Hoixy behind the shabby counter gorging on one of three doner rotating under heating lights.

"Still think it'll be easy?" asked Suzie. She looked all innocent but I sensed an undertone, a challenge.

"Piece of cake."

Opening the door the tinkle of the bell alerted Hoixy to our presence and he looked up, snarling a bit more, before going back to the doner. With the spray in hand I approached cautiously. Leaning over the counter I managed to get his attention and sprayed. It didn't work quite as well as I had hoped and he came at me, snapping his jaws viciously. Dancing back I saw Suzie dart in from the side and use a stun gun which enraged him even more. He was affected by it though and his movements slowed sufficiently for me to vault the counter and inject the universal sedative into Hoixy's neck. He went down with a thud.

"What did I tell you? No problem." I beamed at Suzie who pulled a face. "Now, we've just got to get him out of here."

There wasn't much room behind the counter but we managed to manoeuvre the Hoix out into the main shop. Suzie went to get a bit of tarpaulin from the SUV to chuck over it so the locals wouldn't get alarmed when we carried it out. While I waited the smell of the cooking food got to me; I nipped behind the counter and made two doner kebabs. Didn't think the owner would mind given we'd just saved his shop for him.

"I've told the cops it was a prank," said Suzie as she came back in. "Some student playing the fool." She stopped abruptly just inside the door. "What are you eating?"

"Doner," I mumbled round my mouthful. Swallowing, I added, "Got you one." I held up the bag but she didn't take it.

"A Hoix has just been gnawing on that … that thing!"

"Not the one I used." I waggled the bag with her doner kebab enticingly and like the trencherwoman she is, she took it. My Suzie likes her food. Re-wrapping my doner, I shoved it in my pocket. "Let's get him out."

With the tarpaulin over the Hoix, Suzie and I carried him out to the SUV. The coppers had done a good job and got the crowd to the other side of the street; probably wanted to be as far away as they could themselves. With the Hoix in the back of the vehicle and kebab in hand, I keyed the ignition and we left. A nice little outing to finish the day.

When she'd finished eating, Suzie sighed contentedly. "God, I'd forgotten how good they are. I used to live on these at uni."

"Yeah?" Suzie rarely spoke of her life before we met and I still knew nothing about her family, if she had one. "Maybe we should have them for lunch sometime."

"Suggest it to Ianto though I can't see him agreeing."

"Why not?" The streets were even more deserted now the rain was coming down in earnest. Not a night to be out unless you had to be.

"Don't think he approves of junk food."

"You could be right. Better not tell him then." We grinned like kids.

When we'd got the Hoix inside and in a cell, Suzie packed up and went home. It was around six o'clock and the Rift was quiet again. Ianto was feeding the inmates and I settled in the office. On the desk was a telephone message in Ianto's neat handwriting: Archie wanted me to call him, urgently. My heart sank. Archie McDougall, the Glaswegian in charge of Torchwood Two, was one of the strangest and most intelligent men I had ever met. He proved the old adage that there was a fine line between madness and genius. Better get it over with.

"Archie, what can I do for you?" I asked when he answered my call.

"I need your help, laddie." I had to smile. He was the only person who had the gall to call me 'laddie' and for a moment or two is made me forget just how old I was.

"What's happened?"

"It's deed, the whole thing's deed." Translating, I realised he meant 'dead'. "I canna get it tae work."

I thought I knew what was coming next. Genius he may be – at times – practical he was not. "Have you crashed your server again?"

"I dinnae know, laddie, I dinnae know. One minute the box was working fine, now it's deed."

"Hold on." Putting the phone on speaker, I got into the computer system. We aren't physically linked but Archie is such a luddite about computers Toshiko had set up a monitoring program so we could diagnose problems. "Archie, you've crashed the entire system! How the hell did you manage that!?"

"It's a gift, laddie, a gift," he sighed. "Can the lassie sort me out?" No one would be able to sort him out, not in a month of Sundays, but Toshiko would probably be able to get the server up and running again.

"We'll see what we can do but it won't be tonight. I'll get Tosh to look at it first thing tomorrow. Okay?" I was not calling her back in because of his stupidity.

"Och well, it'll have to be. I was gonnae stay but I'll go now." I checked the time; he'd be off to the pub for the night.

"Okay. Tosh'll call you in the morning. Night."

"G'night, laddie."

I was scribbling a note for Toshiko when Ianto appeared at the doorway, mugs of coffee in hand and a folder under his arm. "Thanks, I need that." I took the coffee and sat back, gazing at the boy in admiration. He had taken off his jacket and was in shirtsleeves, his tie loosened and crooked.

"I found some details about Tanizaki," he said, sitting down on the opposite side of the desk.

"The cybernetics guy?" I sipped the coffee, trying to tell if it was good or bad news but Ianto gave nothing away.

"Yeah. He came into the UK two days ago, Friday. Commercial flight from Geneva where he's based. He's booked into the Marriott West, that's at India Quay right next to Canary Wharf Underground." I heard the slight tremor in his voice when he said this but he did not meet my eye, concentrating on the papers on his knee. "He's booked in until tomorrow."

"Has he met anyone?"

"Not at the hotel which, by the way, is being paid for by HJP Holdings. They're a property company owned by a Henry Parker, a billionaire who -"

"Henry John Parker? Oh, we know him." I was sitting forward now, this was getting interesting.

"You do?"

"Yeah. He collects alien artefacts, anything he can get his hands on but especially the unique. What he wouldn't give for a Cyberman …" There were half a dozen wealthy 'collectors' of alien artefacts but Parker lived on our doorstep and so was of more interest than the others.

"You mean buy one?" Ianto sounded horrified.

"Yeah, I do. And he'd think nothing of activating it either. What else have you found?"

"Tanizaki stayed in his room on Friday but was out all day yesterday and today. He hasn't received any phone calls or e-mails that I can trace. There's good CCTV coverage in the area. If we could get access to it, we may be able to track him, find out where he's been."

"Tosh'll be able to do that, no problem. But you say he's only here until tomorrow?"

"That's as long as he's booked into the hotel and he has a return flight at eleven thirty tomorrow morning."

"So this could be a first meeting, a consultation so to speak." I sat back again, thinking it through. "If I was Henry Parker and someone offered me a Cyberman, a full or partial conversion, I'd want it checked over by an expert before I bought it. Who better than Tanizaki?"

"That's disgusting! That's people trafficking!"

I looked over at Ianto, startled by his vehemence. He was pale and trembling, probably a combination of revulsion and fear. It had only been a few months since the Battle and even less since the death of Lisa. He was still suffering. I got up and went round the desk, pulling him to his feet and into my arms. I held him close and he clung to me. Gradually his shaking subsided and I could hear his breathing slow and return to normal.

"Okay?" I asked as he pulled away. He was staring at his feet, his hands in his pockets.

He nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for, Ianto. You're right, it's a sick thing to do and I hope I'm wrong. I really hope I'm wrong."

"I got some background on Tanizaki. Do you want me to go over it with you?"

"Leave it with me, I'll read it later." No need for him to think about it any more. Perhaps I shouldn't have let him do the research after all.

"It's all in here." He handed me the folder. "I think I've had enough for today. Want to eat?" He smiled but I could see it was an effort. He had been shaken by the thought of someone buying and selling a Cyberman and who could blame him. It could be one of his co-workers, a friend.

"No, thanks, I'm okay."

"What? You're always hungry."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are." He narrowed his eyes and looked at me suspiciously. I am never going to get anything past this boy; surprised he hasn't worked out I can't die yet. "Did you and Suzie get something while you were out?"

"We … yeah, we grabbed a bite. It's hungry work, catching Hoix." I was on the defensive now and edged back round the desk.

"What did you have? Not more pizza?" Realisation hit him. "You had a kebab, didn't you? From that shop."

"It smelled so good, Ianto. I couldn't pass it up."

"A Hoix had been in there!"

"I know, I was the one that caught it!"

"If you get food poisoning you'll get no sympathy from me."

With that he strode off, even forgetting to take the empty coffee mugs. I sat down and watched him head for the kitchen where, moments later, there was a lot of banging of cupboard doors. Ah well, at least it had taken his mind off the possibility of Cybermen. I opened the folder he'd given me and looked through the neatly presented papers. It did not make reassuring reading. Tanizaki had exactly the right background for someone like Parker to whom money was no object. We needed to track his movements and I wondered about starting myself but then I saw Ianto returning from the kitchen with a plate in his hand and sit on the sofa. Tanizaki could wait, Ianto needed reassurance and company.

I wandered out to Toshiko's desk and checked the Rift predictor which was mercifully quiet. Nothing tonight. Sitting beside Ianto I watched him eat, neither of us speaking. When he'd finished, he leant back and rested his head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm round him. There was no need for words. Later we went to my quarters, preferring the narrow bed which forced us together to the larger one downstairs. He had a nightmare that night, the first for a few days, and I held him as he cried.


	34. Chapter 34

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Four

The coffees were distributed and we were ready to begin. It was ten thirty on Monday morning and time for a briefing meeting. For various reasons, we had not had one lately and with so many individual projects on the go I had decided it was overdue. The team were getting themselves settled, helping themselves to the muffins that Toshiko had brought in; I had blueberry, yummy.

"Okay, kids, time for an update. Tosh, you want to start?" I smiled at her and took another bite of my muffin. If I ate this one fast I'd be able to snaffle the one still on the plate.

"I assume you only want to know about the extras, not the normal stuff." I nodded, too much in my mouth to speak. "Right. I'm finishing up the report on the Tenquoo. Their technology is unusual and I can't see any particular benefits for us but as a species I think they were delightful. I'll miss them."

"Hang on," put in Owen, looking round, "what's happened to 'em?"

"We had a Rift opening that matched their energy signature yesterday," Suzie told him. "They went through in the afternoon."

"And we don't know if they made it?"

"No, there's no way of knowing," said Toshiko. We were all quiet at that. Strange how the little creatures had got to us all, even Owen it seemed.

"You may like to see these," volunteered Ianto, using the remote to bring up the photos we'd taken the day before on the large screen set against the glass wall. He put them on slide show and we 'oohed' and 'ahhed' our way through them. There was a great one of Toshiko with all three of the Tenquoo and I could see that finding its way onto her PC as wallpaper.

"Thanks, Ianto. Make sure copies get on the file." I smiled at him and he stopped the slide show leaving a photo of me and Commander Tisguard shaking hands – paws? - on the screen. Maybe that would make good wallpaper too.

"I'm sorry I missed them," admitted Owen. Toshiko looked at him with a soppy smile, probably thinking he had turned over a new leaf. Hardly likely given his track record but she can dream.

"Tosh, next item." I reached for the muffin I'd had my eye on and got a disgusted look from Ianto. He was narked the doner kebab from yesterday hadn't made me ill. I grinned back.

"Archie." There was a groan from Owen who knew him of old. "He crashed his server yesterday. I've looked at it from here and talked him through getting basic functions back on-line. However, there's a serious reliability problem and it's going to keep on happening unless remedial action is taken, on site."

"Tosh and I talked about this already," added Suzie, "and having seen the data I agree with her. One of us has to go to Glasgow."

Some days I actually missed Torchwood One. They had provided support for Archie and me on a range of matters which we now had to cover ourselves. Getting in contractors was fine for major structural work - although we got through a lot of Retcon - but technical support was more difficult to outsource and Archie now looked to us. He was a one man band and both Toshiko and Owen had helped him out in the past few months. He had used UNIT a couple of times but they had found him so weird they refused to help any more. However, sending someone to help him put more pressure on the rest of us: he was going to have to recruit some people of his own.

"I know it's a nuisance," went on Toshiko, "but I think it could be done in a day."

"We ought to do it, Jack. Tosh and I flipped a coin and I won … so she's going." Suzie grinned.

"I don't mind." Toshiko never minded being put upon, that was her biggest problem.

"All right, but this is the last time. We can't provide Archie's backup forever. I'll call and tell him. When do you want to go?" I asked.

"I need to order some parts and they'll probably take a couple of days. Maybe Friday? I'll go up Thursday evening if you'll spring for a hotel."

"We'll plan on you being out on Friday then. But Archie can foot the hotel bill! Anything else?"

"Nothing major."

"Owen, your turn."

"Haven't checked everything yet but I have looked in on Tommy and all's as it should be. You've not lined up any postmortems for me - wonders will never cease - so I thought I'd check on Janet and these other Weevils you picked up on Saturday. Were they really making out?" He grinned lecherously.

"Oh yeah," said Suzie with feeling. "Quite turned my stomach to see it."

"Rubbish, it was hot," I told him, my grin matching his. "I put some files on your desk that need your input, get those done today before you start Weevil watching." He pulled a face but he didn't have an excuse not to do them. "Ianto?"

"Jack and I have been following up on a report on _Dark Talk_ concerning a Dr Tanizaki." He flicked the remote and the Tenquoo disappeared to be replaced by the doctor's mugshot. Ianto went on to fill the others in on what he had found out. He and I had agreed this earlier while we were doing our bit for energy conservation by having a - very enjoyable - shared shower. I was pleased he wanted to present the topic and he was doing a good job. "What we need urgently is to find out where he went over the weekend. There's good CCTV around the hotel so we should be able to track him," he concluded.

"Shouldn't be a problem," said Toshiko immediately, always ready to take on more work.

"You're doing enough," interrupted Suzie, "I'll take this one. I've got some admin and I'm still experimenting with the Glove but otherwise I'm pretty clear."

"Brought any more poor buggers back to life?" asked Owen sarcastically.

"No." She dismissed the insinuation and moved on; good for her. "Let's get together at the end of the meeting, Ianto, and I'll get onto it."

"Thanks." Ianto smiled at her and closed the screen.

"Before we move on, I just want to emphasise again how dangerous these Cybermen are. One Cyberman, just one, could convert the whole of the human race. That is not an exaggeration." I looked round at all of them, meeting their gaze. "If we find anything, we bring in all the help we need to deal with it. Understood?" They nodded, serious for once. "Anything else, Ianto?"

"Just the archives. I've been working on the paper files and the last forty years are in pretty good order now. I'll continue with the older ones which should be quicker as there's less in them." Quicker? This boy was a bloody marvel to have done so much so soon. "Tosh and I are going to try this alien Reader to see if it helps with computerisation but the main area I need to tackle is the artefacts. From what I've gathered no one know what's in those rooms downstairs. We need to find out, catalogue them and cross reference them to the files."

"That's a big job," I cautioned.

"Which won't go away, it'll just get bigger. I need to make a start sometime." I had been putting off letting him loose on the artefacts until I was totally sure I trusted him. And now I did I suppose I'd have to agree.

"I'm surprised you've got any time available but, okay, we'll show you what's down there."

"Thank you, sir." He smiled at me so sexily he could have asked for anything and I'd have given it to him.

"Anything else, anyone?" They all shook their heads and started to shift in their chairs, keen to get on. "Back to work, then."

Toshiko gathered up her papers and was first to leave, followed by Suzie and Ianto who carried the tray of coffee mugs. Owen hung around. As he was usually first out of the door I assumed he wanted a private talk.

"Bit of a daft idea to get Ianto researching that doctor bloke," he said, blunt and to the point. "I told you before, PTSD doesn't just disappear. Dealing with Cybermen is not going to help him."

"He found the report and he wanted to follow it up."

"And that makes it right!?"

"Letting him take the lead showed I trusted him, that I knew he'd changed from the boy who had hidden the Cyberwoman. He's been okay." There was no reason for Owen to know about Ianto's breakdown last night. "I'm watching him and now you're back, so can you."

He huffed and puffed then said, "You think there's anything in it? That there might be another one of those things somewhere?"

"I think it's possible, unfortunately."

"Bloody hell."

Back in the office I called Archie and had a chat about his server problems. He was grateful for our help, he always is, and I felt a heel when I told him we couldn't carry on being his back-up. He took it well and promised to look around for an assistant. Glasgow sees nothing like the amount of alien activity we do but he covers the whole of Scotland and those remote areas in the north have more than their fair share of UFO sightings. We talked about the sort of person he needed to recruit and I put the phone down reasonably hopeful we'd soon have him off our hands. I'd keep my eyes open too, I may come across someone suitable. Deciding not to put off my trip to Flat Holm any longer, my next call was to Wynn Hughes.

"I'm off out," I said to Owen as I passed him. He was working on the folders I'd left for him and looked bored out of his mind. "Don't wait lunch for me."

"Where're you going?" He is so suspicious.

"I told you, out." I left him looking after me, disgusted as well as suspicious.

I wasn't in a rush so took the drive to Penarth slowly, enjoying the sunshine after yesterday's rain. This was a good day to be on the water. I wasn't looking forward to my visit but at least this time I didn't have a new patient for them. Sitting in traffic, I realised it was only the weekend before that I'd been out there with the woman … Felicity, that was her name, Felicity Warner. So much happens in a week that its hard to keep track of the days. The reports I'd received on the woman were promising.

Wynn and his boat were ready for me, so we went straight out. As I was alone this time, I was able to have a chat with him and heard all about his new grandson. He was thrilled to bits and showed me a wallet full of photographs of the tiny mite; he was only two weeks' old. It made me realise what an unnatural grandfather I was – I had no baby photographs of Steven, or Alice come to that. As I walked up from the landing stage, I wondered what Alice's reaction would be if I asked for some – she'd probably be as disgusted and suspicious as Owen had been when I'd left the Hub. But perhaps, if I explained, she'd let me have one of them both. I'd like to have something to remember them by before The Doctor comes back. Who knows where I'll end up once I'm cured.

"Jack, good to see you." Helen came bustling up the dreary corridor towards me. We shook hands, we've always been formal.

"And you. I'd like to see Felicity first, then we can talk over any issues."

"That's fine. This way." She turned and led me through the labyrinthine corridors.

I like Helen Yardley. A no-nonsense woman, she had been caring for others as a nurse then social worker for years before I found and recruited her. When I'd offered her carte-blanche to run the place as she chose, she'd leapt at the chance to be her own boss and to try new treatments. She'd had enough success to keep her optimism alive and cared for all her charges with a dogged determination.

"How is she?" I asked, smiling as we passed a particularly attractive nurse.

"Doing well. Her burns are healing and she's only lightly sedated. In here." We entered the lounge where half a dozen men and women were sitting in armchairs watching TV. "Felicity, someone to see you."

The woman slowly turned her head in our direction, her eyes focussed on something far away. Her face was badly scarred down the right hand side, the welts still red and livid, and her blonde hair had been cut short. I crouched down so our eyes were level and smiled at her.

"Hello, Felicity. I'm Jack." I brushed her hair behind her ear, taking a closer look at her face. I'd not expected her to speak so nearly toppled over when I heard a quiet, Welsh voice.

"Hello, Jack."

"Well now, how are you feeling?" I smiled at her, delighted to get a response.

"Hello, Jack," she repeated before her gaze drifted from my face and went back to the TV screen.

"That's all she says at the moment," said Helen, "but I'm hopeful she'll say more in time."

I visited a few more of the patients including Saeed Taufeeq, a young man returned by the Rift a couple of years earlier and who hadn't responded to any of the care he'd been given. It was all pretty depressing and I was pleased to drink a cup of tea with Helen and her deputy, Stan Brown, and get a full update. They urgently needed more money and I resolved to do what I could to free some up from somewhere.

It was two thirty when Wynn and I pulled into Penarth marina. He was off to see his grandson and I considered going to see mine before realising the futility of it. Showing up unexpectedly would not endear me to Alice besides, he'd be at school. Sitting in the SUV, I looked out across the boats and took a moment to put aside the horrors of Flat Holm. A picture of Ianto sleeping in my arms came into my head and I smiled, just the image I needed to get into a better frame of mind. Switching on my mobile, I checked the messages. One from Bridget at the Home Office, a couple from contacts around the city and one from Ianto – a text asking if I wanted him to save some lunch (curry) for me. He looks after me so well. Texting him, I told him not to bother - I'd eaten with Helen and her team - and that I was on my way back.

"You're back then," said Suzie, standing in the main level of the Hub fish in hand.

"Seems so. What are you doing with that?" I nodded to the fish.

"Feeding your pet." She glanced up and flung the fish into the air for Myfanwy to swoop down and catch. "Ianto's gone to the supermarket so I said I'd feed the beast." She reached into a bucket and took out another fish and flung it up high again.

"Right. How'd you get on with the CCTV?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, after I've got the smell of fish off me." She took another fish out of the bucket, there were only two left.

There was no one in the work area as I crossed it to the office and hung up my greatcoat. Looking round, I spotted Toshiko in the Boardroom but there was no sign of Owen. Down in the vaults with the Weevils, I expect. Wishing there was coffee available, I went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water instead. Suzie had disappeared and Myfanwy was circling way up high, digesting her lunch. Back in the office, I saw Owen had dumped all the folders back with me again so sat and started to look through them.

"Okay, smell a bit better now," said Suzie, appearing at my door and startling the hell out of me. "Oh, sorry," she laughed, "figured you'd have heard me." She came in and sat down, a sheaf of notes in her hand.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one day." I took some water and let my heart rate return to normal.

"Dr Tanizaki," she announced portentously. "The CCTV shows that on Saturday morning he went to an internet café in Docklands where he stayed for two hours. He researched Parker and a man called Peter Whyte who works for him, his chief alien adviser far as I can tell. After lunch at a swanky bistro, alone, he was met outside Docklands Underground by a limo which took him to Epping Forest. Bad CCTV up there and I lost him north of Chingford on the A104. He returned to the hotel at seven that evening. Went back to the same place yesterday after being picked up from the hotel at ten, back by four thirty. He caught his 'plane back to Geneva as planned this morning."

What had the good doctor been up to?


	35. Chapter 35

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Five

"So, your conclusions?" I asked. Suzie and I were in my office considering the meaning of Dr Tanizaki's visit to London and in particular his trip to Epping Forest.

"One," she said, ticking off the points on her fingers, "he came here at the invitation of Henry Parker. Two, he probably doesn't know him that well hence the research trip to the internet café. Three, he went to see something in Epping Forest. It wasn't Parker because he and his alien adviser, Peter Whyte, were at the house in Lisvane. Four, whatever he saw necessitated two visits, about twelve hours in total. Five and last, he could have gone anywhere within a couple of square miles."

She'd summed it up well. Tanizaki could have been to see a captive Cyberman or Cybermen or … something else entirely. But I'd put money on the Cyberman option. He was a cybernetics specialist, what else would Parker want with him?

"Can we get anything from the satellites? They should have picked up the car."

"I could try," she said making a quick note. "NASA aren't keen on us hacking into theirs so I'll try one of the commercial ones. Still only likely to get a building of some sort."

"Which we can go visit. Mob handed if necessary."

She looked at me for a minute or two, speculating. "You're worried about this, aren't you?"

"Damn right I am. Get onto the satellites, see what you can find."

"Okay."

She got up and left the office and I sat and considered all we'd learned. It seemed likely that there was at least one Cyberman still on the loose and that was enough to frighten anyone. It could have been a straggler from Canary Wharf – most had been dragged there to go back into the Void – or one of those in people's homes. Had some enterprising homeowner disabled one and offered it to the highest bidder? Humans, anything for a quick buck. There was nothing more I could do until we'd pinpointed the place Tanizaki had visited.

Looking for a distraction I saw the ideal one. With a grin I was on my feet and striding across the work area. "Now that is a beautiful sight," I drawled, leaning on the doorjamb and looking into the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?" Ianto peered at me over his shoulder. He was bent over reorganising the fridge. Food was piled all around including more whipped cream – goody.

"The gorgeous Welsh arse that's bobbing about." I grinned at him but he just turned away. "Any chance of a coffee?"

"Not at the moment. You can see I'm busy." He removed a container. "Yuck." Straightening up he threw it in the bin. "Owen. He buys stuff, uses some and then leaves the rest to rot in here." He was frowning, two little furrows at the top of his nose. I'm sure he was trying to look fierce but he just looked cute.

"How long you going to be?"

He stared at me with that eyebrow lifted. "As long as it takes. Go and do some work, sir." Bending over again he got back into the fridge.

"You're no fun today," I sighed. "Feel like going out tonight? Drink maybe?"

"Can't."

"What? Why not?" He straightened up again, keeping his back to me. I could see he was tense from the way he was stood so took a couple of paces into the room. "What is it?"

He turned then and glanced shiftily out of the open door. "I'm going to see my sister. Johnny'll be at the pub and the kids'll be in bed."

"You're going to tell her …"

"That I'm bi, yes." He didn't look happy about it. I closed the distance between us and hugged him.

"Jeez, Harkness, not around food!" Owen was stood in the doorway. "When you making coffee, Teaboy? I'm parched."

"When I've finished clearing up the health hazards you've left in here," said Ianto, neatly getting out of my arms and pointing to the fridge.

"I'll have a beer then." Owen was completely unimpressed by the complaint. He reached across to the cans on the side and took one. "Leave the boy alone, Jack," he said as he left.

When he was out of earshot I turned back to Ianto who was leaning against the counter. "Want me to come with you?" I offered.

"God no!" I suppose I must have looked surprised, offended even, because he went on immediately. "It'll be embarrassing enough without you being there. I need to do this my way."

"Okay."

"I'll finish this then make you some coffee. Ten minutes."

"Fine."

I gave a quick kiss on the lips and left him to it; I was desperate for a decent coffee so didn't want to hold him up any longer than necessary. And he was going to talk to his sister, good news. Not because it meant we wouldn't be hiding from her again but because he needed all the family and friends he could get. Working for Torchwood cuts us off from everyone and everything unless we make an effort to keep in touch.

"Doing anything, Jack? Other than the teaboy, that is," asked Owen with a smirk as I wandered past his desk.

"Not particularly, why?"

"Just wanted a word, 'bout the Weevils."

"Come on in." I continued to the office and heard Owen scrape his chair back – only he can do that with a chair on wheels – and follow me. He sat in the visitor's chair, folder in one hand and beer can in the other. "What have you got?"

"I think they're telepathic or have a group consciousness."

This was news to me. I sat forward, arms resting on the desk. "That's never even been suggested before. What evidence have you got?"

He took me through it, pleased his little study was throwing up new information about aliens that had been around for so long. Maybe they were so ubiquitous we'd got too used to them and ignored them. The tests and experiments he had been running were standard stuff and it was only today, when he'd had three subjects in the cells that he'd been able to observe them apparently communicating. Their mouths were not designed for speech as we know it so telepathy made a great deal of sense. In one experiment he had shown Janet how to extract food from a sealed box. When he gave the same box to the other Weevils, who could not see Janet, they had known immediately how to get at the food.

"It's not conclusive, of course," said Owen, "but it's a good indication. I'll see what we've got down in the archives that we could use to measure their brain activity."

"Okay. This could explain a lot. Good work, Owen."

"Thanks." He was pleased with himself as well he should be; this could help us communicate with the Weevils which would be a godsend. We spend far too much time chasing them around the alleys of the city. He got up to go, collecting his papers.

"Have a good weekend?" I asked.

"Not bad. Least there's a bit of life in London not like this dump."

With that he was off. He'd never taken to Cardiff, Wales or the Welsh; he was a Londoner through and through. As he went out I saw Ianto coming in my direction with the promised coffee. He gave Toshiko hers then came into the office.

"Your coffee, sir." He put the blue and white striped mug down carefully.

"Thanks. What time you off out this evening?"

"Not until seven thirty, eight o'clock. Want to make sure Johnny's out of the way."

"What does he do?" I sipped the coffee as he looked at me quizzically.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Something to talk about when we meet."

"Oh right, you'll tell him about your day chasing aliens and he'll tell you about his as a bin man!" He didn't need to sound quite so dismissive.

"Sounds like we'd have a lot in common. We both get rid of the city's rubbish."

He laughed then, an honest laugh which was great to hear. Through the glass wall I saw Toshiko look our way, a smile on her face. Ianto went off, still smiling. We don't laugh enough. I know our work's not exactly designed for hilarity nevertheless there are times when we could have a bit of fun, if not here in the Hub, then on a night out together. Which made me think. I would be at a loose end without Ianto to keep me company, why not take the others out for a meal? It was five o'clock, too soon to leave but I'd suggest it in a couple of hours.

I caught up with some e-mails and phone calls for an hour or so when Suzie called on the comms. "Jack, can you get up here? Got something to show you. The rest of you may want to come too." Getting out of the chair I looked up at the Boardroom and saw Suzie standing by the glass wall.

Toshiko and I walked up together and Owen and Ianto joined us just a few minutes later from wherever they had been. We sat and stood around as Suzie activated the plasma screen.

"I've been trying to trace Dr Tanizaki's movements once he entered Epping Forest. Jack suggested the satellites and it's worked." The screen was now showing a view of the UK from miles up in space. As we watched, Suzie increased the magnification and it quickly centred on the South East of England, then London, then Chingford where she halted it. "Using CCTV I tracked Tanizaki's limo to this spot, just north of the town. He didn't emerge at the next camera position on the A104, four miles further on, so he had to have turned off somewhere in-between." The picture on the screen moved in again. "There are two turnings he could have taken. One leads into an exclusive residential estate, not likely to be our man's destination. Too many people about. The other is more promising. It leads to a collection of forestry buildings. From the satellite logs, I've found the limo outside one of them." The picture resolved into a small clearing with the parked limo and what appeared to be a wooden building perhaps a small barn.

"Great work, Suze. Really good." I nodded at her, pleased with what she had discovered.

"Can you tell what's inside?" asked Ianto. He looked a little pale, probably imagining what was likely to be hidden there. I saw Owen glance at him, as aware as me of the possible affect it would have on the boy.

"No. Only way to do that is to go there." Suzie looked at me and raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question.

"Which is what we're going to do." My mind was racing, thinking of the all the variables and deciding on the best way forward. "Suzie, Owen, you're with me. Tosh I need you to stay here and find out as much as you can about the area and be our eyes and ears. Also, get all our data on the Cybermen and pass it to Suzie."

"We'll need some heavy firepower. I'll look out some blasters," offered Owen.

"Good. Pick up some explosives too, we may need them. I'll talk to UNIT, get some back-up. Tosh, you'll be our liaison with them while we're on the road. Ianto, can you stay here tonight? Tosh may need some help."

"Of course."

"Okay, we leave in ten."

They scattered to get ready, efficient and organised. So much for a quiet evening with the troops. I went to the office and called Colonel Mace at UNIT. He wasn't there but the efficient aide I spoke to soon realised the urgency and promised to set the preparations in motion and to get the Colonel to call me. Ianto appeared to help me on with my coat. With that, my Webley and mobile I was set.

"Sorry about tonight, Ianto."

"That's okay. I can see Rhi any time." He smiled ruefully, "It's waited this long. I made a couple of thermoses of coffee, Suzie has them."

"Knew there was a reason why I kept you around." I grinned and gave him a smacker of a kiss.

"Be careful, Jack."

"Always."

With that I was off, coat-tails flying behind me as I followed Owen to the SUV. I let him drive as I wanted to be free to talk to Mace and settled into the passenger seat. Suzie was in the back, the computers booted up and ready to go. We sped out of Cardiff and once on the M4 Owen put his foot down and we made good time across the southern counties of England, around London on the M25 and then onto the narrower roads nearer our destination. The journey would normally take around three hours, that is if you stuck to the speed limits. We didn't – do we ever? – and made in two. It helped that Toshiko was diverting any cops who spotted us speeding but Owen's a good driver and with a vehicle the size of the SUV few other cars wanted to take us on. We must have been clocked by all of the speed cameras but what the heck – the SUV's not registered so there's nowhere to send the nasty letters about points and fines.

Mace called me back early on and I confirmed all I'd told his aide. The Colonel was on the ball and as concerned as I was about the possibility of Cybermen loose in Essex. After a bit of discussion, we arranged to meet on an industrial estate – deserted at night – five miles from the target. Ahead of us meeting up, he'd send a surveillance team into the forest to surround the building but getting no nearer than five hundred metres. With their listening and night vision equipment we should have a better idea of what to expect.

"Who is this Mace guy?" asked Owen as we drove through the gathering gloom. It was seven twenty and would be dark before we reached Chingford about half an hour away.

"Bloke I met at the UNIT conference the other week. He impressed me." I sipped some of the coffee Suzie had poured out; a taste of Ianto even when he was far away.

"A hunk, huh?" sniggered Suzie from the back seat. "Can't wait."

"He's forty and balding, sorry." I peered back at her between the seats and grinned.

"Oh well, should be plenty of other fit guys in those tight black uniforms."

"Give it a rest, you two." Owen sounded disgusted again. He blasted the horn and a car quickly gave way to him.

"Come on, Owen, plenty of fit chicks too," I told him. "Or aren't you man enough for them?"

"He gets turned on by a woman in a uniform, didn't you know?" teased Suzie. "Made me dress up for him when we were having our fling."

"And why am I only hearing this now!?" Talk about keeping the juicy stuff to themselves. "Tell me all, Suzie."

"You shut up or I'll tell him about your S&M fetish!" snapped Owen.

"You just did!" she snapped right back. This was good. I was finding out so much about my team.

"Now, kids, just tell your Uncle Jack all about it. I'm all ears," I encouraged.

"Unlike you, Harkness, we don't need to boost our egos with tales of our sexual conquests." He sounded so pompous and self-righteous I had to laugh.

"Since when? You usually spill all."

"If you told him anything about me, Harper," began Suzie.

"I didn't! He's trying to get us going. Don't fall for it." Owen glowered at me and changed the subject. "So you know nothing about this Mace guy."

"Alan Mace, forty one, single," I began, reciting from the research I'd done shortly after I'd met him. "Last of a long line of military men. Educated at Harrow and Oxford before officer training at Sandhurst. Regular Army for ten years rising to Captain. Served in the usual hotspots as well as doing desk duty in Whitehall. Transferred to UNIT in 2000 and was promoted Colonel six months ago. Was on clean-up after Canary Wharf."

"Not bad," commented Suzie. She was sitting back drinking some coffee. We'd emptied one thermos and were keeping the second for the return journey. "How do you want us to play it tonight?"

I was about to answer when Toshiko came through on the comms. _"Jack, the predictor just spiked. There's going to be a Rift opening in an hour." _

"Damn! Any indication of what?" It was a stupid question. The predictor only gave us advance notice of openings, not what they would bring.

"_Only that it looks small and should be in the city centre. Ianto and I'll be able to cope but we may not be able to give you any support." _How typical of her, more concerned about us than dealing with a Rift opening with only Ianto's untrained assistance.

"I don't want you or Ianto taking any risks, Tosh. You hear me? Call UNIT and get them to deal with it."

"_I'll see what it is first. It may just be an artefact." _

"Tosh, are you listening to me!? I said don't take risks."

"_We won't. Don't worry about us, concentrate on capturing the Cyberman." _

As if I didn't have enough to worry about!

* * *

_Just a quick word to thank you all for your support for this story. It's great to know so many of you are reading and - I hope - enjoying it. Special thanks to all those who also review, it's much appreciated. Jay_


	36. Chapter 36

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Six

There were six transport vehicles and one huge command truck waiting for us when we rolled into one of Chingford's industrial estates. Around forty soldiers were waiting patiently – or not – to one side and we had to give our pass codes before the guards would let us through. This lot couldn't do anything discreetly and I congratulated myself on getting them to meet us here, well away from the target. Owen drove, as directed by the guards, to the side of the command truck, a big black beast.

"Let me do the talking," I said, opening the car door.

"Stopping you would be the trick," muttered Owen.

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to." He grinned malevolently and slammed his door, walking to the steps leading up into the truck.

The inside of the truck was shiny and modern and fitted out with everything you could possibly want on an operation. They could probably launch nuclear missiles if needed. Every surface looked as if it had been polished and the people sitting at the stations were immaculate in their uniforms; gotta say they do look good in black and red. In one corner was a glass walled office about the same size as mine. As we followed our guide I couldn't help but compare this place to the Hub. Surprisingly, I preferred my dirty, smelly hole in the ground in Cardiff. It felt lived in – as it was, by me and Ianto – while this was soulless.

"Captain Harkness, Jack, good to see you again." Mace came forward to greet me, hand extended. We shook and I gave it a fair bit of pressure, just to see what he would do. He didn't flinch. Like I said, a good man.

"And you, Alan. This is my deputy, Suzie Costello, and our medical adviser, Owen Harper."

He nodded at them both. "My aide, Lieutenant Riley." He indicated a neat redhead who filled out her uniform in all the right places. Beside me, Owen quivered with barely restrained testosterone.

"Okay, what have your surveillance team found?" I was being polite. Suzie had hacked into their channels and got the information already but I didn't want Mace to know that.

"The building is a wood store, empty at present. Of wood anyway." He smiled grimly. "It's thirty by forty five metres with main double height doors on the west wall." A diagram was showing on a screen in lots of pretty colours. "There's one other door – normal size – into the office on the south wall. We have three heat sources in the building. Here, here and here." He pointed them out on the screen using his swagger stick.

"Anything non-human?" asked Owen, casually edging closer to Riley under pretence of looking at the screen. He'd have her backed into a corner soon, there wasn't much room with five us in the office.

"No, but we're not a hundred per cent sure what to look for. The Cybermen had gone when we got to Canary Wharf."

"Missed the thousands across the country too, did you?" he retorted sarcastically.

"It's hard to pick them up." I glared at Owen and smiled apologetically at Mace. "If they're only partial conversions, I believe they're called Human Point Twos, it'll register as human anyway. What about defences?"

"Ah, there we have something. Motion and heat sensors on both doors and the window in the office. Hints of more inside the building but we can't be sure until we get closer. No perimeter guards but there are cameras all round the building."

"They have something to hide," murmured Suzie. She was listening politely while still checking her PDA for information from the UNIT channels and Toshiko.

"Indeed." Mace looked over at her, his voice just slightly patronising. She glanced at him then at me and shrugged almost imperceptibly, willing to let it go for now.

"Pick up any conversations?" Their equipment should have been able to tune into the quietest whispers.

"No."

"So, with all those sensors we can't surprise them. Makes it easier." I grinned round at them all. "Let's roll."

"What!? Wait!" Mace sounded shocked. "What's our battle plan?"

I looked at him then at Suzie and Owen. I even allowed myself a second or two to look at the luscious Lieutenant Riley. "We drive through the main door. You follow us in and back us up. Oh, and secure the perimeter." I shrugged, what more did he need? I turned and walked out, Suzie and Owen following.

Getting the blasters from the back of the SUV, Suzie chuckled. "You spoilt his fun, Jack."

"Yeah, thought you were mates," added Owen.

"I need his troops, not his battle tactics."

With the blasters at the ready, I got in the driving seat and Owen jumped in beside me. Suzie went in the back again, still working on her PDA. Around us, the UNIT soldiers were all lined up in ranks. A shiny Land Rover appeared for Mace who was standing giving orders to his underlings. The military command chain always irritated me. Officer one gives the order to officer two who relays it to officer three and so on. Takes hours to get to the boys on the ground who are going to have to carry it out. That's one of the reasons why the Torchwood Three team has always been small, right back to Victorian times: we can move fast. With a squeal of rubber, I shot off scattering the few soldiers still trotting around.

Using the comms I called up Toshiko. "What's happening, Tosh?" The downside of having a small team was being stretched thin as we were that night.

"_The UNIT troops are on the move but I guess you know that." _She was having a laugh. The comms had been open so she'd heard my exchange with Mace.

"Ha-ha. Any movement at the wood store?"

"_The surveillance team haven't moved. There are six of them, two on the west and south sides and one each to the north and east. I've been analysing their readings, running them through our databases, and there's something alien in the building." _

"'Something nasty in the woodshed'," I quoted in a silly country accent.

"_I just said that."_ Toshiko sounded aggrieved.

"It's a quote, Tosh." She needs to get away from her technology once in a while and read a good book. _Cold Comfort Farm_ is a hoot. "What news on the Rift?"

"_Opening in fifteen minutes. Ianto's ready to pinpoint the exact location."_

"Tosh, please be careful and keep the comms open." I should be heeding my own advice. I was driving down a two lane road at ninety miles a hour, in the dark with traffic all around me. Beside me, Owen was braced against the dashboard while hanging on to the two blasters – his and mine – and in the back Suzie was being bounced around.

"_We will."_

"Take the next left, a hundred metres," shouted Suzie from behind me.

Slamming on the brakes, I slowed sufficiently to take the corner on two wheels onto a narrow, unlit track. Owen bumped into me and one of the blasters escaped his hold and landed on the floor; good job he had the safety on.

"You carry on like this and we won't need bloody Cybermen to kill us!" he complained, righting himself.

I ignored him, enjoying myself too much. "Suzie, where are the main doors?"

"They'll be almost facing you as you come into the clearing. Four hundred metres, three," she counted down. I slowed down to fifty, still too fast for this pot-holed track, and fairly flew along. I killed the headlights when I detected a faint glow ahead. "One hundred metres," she called. "Targets haven't moved." That meant there was one on the left towards the back of the building and two on the right not far from the doors.

"I'm going straight in. Get your blasters ready and get out of the vehicle fast," I ordered as the clearing came into view. "Keep low and find cover."

We were across the clearing - which was more of a parking area than anything else - and the doors loomed. I held our course and the SUV hit the doors with a crash that sent wood splintering. One door crumpled on impact but the other stayed on the bonnet. This, of course, was on my side so I couldn't see a thing. I slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a stop. When the door left the bonnet and continued on it hit a stack of timber just a metre or so away; thought Mace said the building was empty! Suzie was diving out of the back, going right. Owen shoved a blaster at me before rolling out left. I got out fast too, following Suzie who I saw get behind a couple of oil drums.

The headlights of the UNIT vehicles were bearing down the track and lit the place up like Blackpool illuminations. Using the light, I scanned the building. There was the one large stack of wood which I'd nearly barrelled into but otherwise the place was empty. I guessed the stack had been left there as a barrier and camouflage. There was some lifting gear and various small pieces of machinery which looked like they might have something to do with forestry and timber production. What was out of place were the two men who popped out from behind pillars and started raining automatic fire at Suzie and me. I fired from my now precarious position and then rolled away a metre or so, getting dirt and sawdust over my greatcoat: Ianto was going to be so cross. From the oil drums I heard Suzie fire twice and one of the gunmen went down with a clatter. Lying full length, I got off a shot and the other man was winged. He still had his Uzi as he stumbled away into the deeper recesses of the building which were now in shadow thanks to UNIT's light show.

"This one's dead," called Suzie from beside the man she'd taken down. As well as all her other talents she's a great shot although she dislikes guns.

I went to join her, keeping low. "Should have brought the Glove then we could have found out what this is all about." I grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Surrender your weapons! You are surrounded," boomed out behind me. Mace. All military men love loudhailers and Mace was having his moment.

Suzie rolled her eyes at me and moved off, making her way cautiously towards the office. UNIT troopers were fanning out in formation to cover the door and move systematically through the building which was fine, they would mop up whatever we left behind.

"Owen, report," I said into the comms. I was on the move again, bent double I was jogging to the timber stack. It was stepped up the side and made a great vantage point.

"_I'm one, maybe two, metres beyond the wood you nearly bashed into. Someone's ahead of me but I can't get a clear view. What was the firing?" _

"Us. One human down. One wounded but armed and possibly heading your way."

I was climbing the stack now, scrabbling up and making as little noise as I could. The UNIT guys were well disciplined and were maintaining silence as they moved forward in line a pace at a time. They were still behind the SUV so I was well in front of them and Owen was even further in front on me. On my right movement told me Suzie was out of the office and heading forward too.

"_There's equipment back here. Looks similar to that we found at Ianto's. Shit!" _

There was a burst of automatic fire and an 'oomph' of pain from Owen. Then the blaster fired making a noise like no other, not on Earth anyway. I'd made it to the top of the stack and looked down, sweeping the area before me for movement. The back of the building had been cleared of wood and anything related to it. Temporary screens had been erected in a square with some form of hard flooring to make it more hygienic. Inside the screens were two empty Cyber-conversion units and other quasi-medical equipment. Of more immediate interest was the man crouched behind one of the units drawing a bead on Owen who was half lying, half sitting against a pillar. I aimed and fired from the hip. The guy went down, sprawled on his back with half his chest blown away.

"Owen, hang in there." I saw him move sideways to get better cover so he was not too badly hurt. "Suzie, another ugly down and dead. Just the wounded one on the loose."

"_Understood."_

I saw her creep forward and concentrated on the scene before me, searching for the other guy. The headlights still beaming from behind and the building's own lighting combined to made weird shadows on the floor and walls. A small patch of extra darkness drew my eye.

"Suze, ten o'clock about two metres." She moved to face the point I'd indicated and crept forward. Deciding to follow Mace's example, I raised my voice and shouted. "Give yourself up and you won't get hurt!" Not quite true, he'd already been hurt, but it sounded good.

With Suzie a bare metre away the patch of shadow moved and the Uzi sounded. Suzie hit the deck and I blasted. A yell and the Uzi clattered to the ground, the man holding it fell onto his back, motionless but groaning. I was relieved when Suzie stood up – she was unharmed – and kicked the Uzi away. I turned and waved the UNIT guys forward, they'd not even made it round the stack of wood yet, and a dozen jogged round. Once I was assured Suzie was covering the guy, I clambered down the stack of wood on the other side and went to Owen.

"Where are you hit?" I asked, shining my torch on him to get a better view.

"Thigh. Pull this tight." He indicated a rough tourniquet he had fashioned and I obliged. "It's only a graze but it's bleeding a lot."

"We'll get you sorted out, don't worry." I looked round to find the nearest UNIT trooper. "Hey, you, go get a medic and bring him here. Now!" She jogged off – do they never just walk? – and I checked on Suzie. She was walking towards me, her captive under the expert eye of a trooper.

"That one's only nicked, you'll be able to talk to him," she reported. "You okay?" she asked Owen, checking him over.

"I'll live." A pair of medics appeared, jogging of course, and I took a pace or two away to give them room to work.

Colonel Mace appeared with the lovely Lieutenant Riley in tow. He looked round and saw the equipment. "Cyberman," he said quietly with a touch of fear. I liked him all the more for that.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Suzie, take a look around and see what we've got. Want one of your guys to go with her?" I offered Mace. He'd done what I'd asked of him and I felt it was only fair they get to look at the stuff.

"Yes. Riley, see to it." The two women went off and Mace glanced over at the captive who was receiving medical attention. "What about him?"

"We'll need to interrogate him. Put him in the office when your guys have finished and we can make a start."

"But he's injured!" The shock was clear. If he started on about the Geneva Convention …

"Then he's got the motivation to talk. Excuse me, I need to check in with my team in Cardiff."

Taking a few paces away I found a quiet spot. The comms had been suspiciously quiet and I guessed Toshiko and Ianto had turned theirs off so I wouldn't hear what they were doing. "Tosh, Ianto, what's happening down there?"

"_We're fine, sir. How's Owen?"_ It was Ianto and while I was pleased to hear his lovely Welsh vowels I was immediately on my guard. Where was Toshiko?

"Fine. Where's Tosh!?" I demanded.

"_Um, she's out, sir."_

"Out!? OUT!? You let her go on her own to a Rift opening!?" Damn it, I wanted to wring their necks for them. It was stupid to take chances.

"_She's not on her own, sir. The police are there." _

"POLICE!?"

"_Yes, sir. And there's no need to shout."_ I was so going to tear him – them! - off a strip when I got back. _"It was a small opening. Something inanimate fell into the back garden of a house in Canton, frightened the occupants. The police have pictures of it and Tosh identified it as a Grenskill sonic shield. She's gone to claim it. Sir." _

All right so they weren't in danger. Grenskill shields are harmless but it's better if we have it rather than let the homeowner or the coppers keep it. I took a couple of deep breaths and reined in my temper. "Okay, okay. Keep an eye on her, make sure she's all right."

"_I am, sir. She's with the police at the moment, filling out the paperwork. It seems they want a receipt and are finding it rather difficult to describe the artefact satisfactorily." _There was a hint of laughter in his voice. I had to smile too which lightened my mood a bit more. _"When will you be back?" _he asked wistfully.

"Soon as I can. Gonna use the whipped cream to grease your -"

"No more!" came over the comms, a combined shout from Owen and Suzie.

Party poopers!!


	37. Chapter 37

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Seven

The wood store had been used to house a Cyberman, that was clear from the equipment we had found, but there was none there now. The UNIT troopers had swept the whole building and the surroundings; nada. It had been just the three humans and only one of them was still breathing. Suzie was working with a couple of UNIT technicians, taking samples from the conversion units. I was hoping for human traces, ghoulish as that may sound, as attempts to convert humans would be easier to halt than facing fully functioning Cybermen. Owen, who had only got a flesh wound and was mobile again, was in the command truck now parked outside – God know how they got it up the track – analysing the samples. He had gone very willingly, accompanied by Lieutenant Riley.

Which just left me. I was with Colonel Mace in the wood store office with the prisoner, a couple of guards outside. The man had been hit in the right upper arm and left hip. He was moaning about being in pain but that did not concern me. His name was Philip Stokes, 26, Regular Army before being dishonourably discharged for gross insubordination. Probably didn't grovel quick enough when an officer walked past. Needless to say, any sympathy Mace had had for the man had disappeared when I'd told him of Stokes' past, information I'd received courtesy of Ianto; the boy's getting good with the databases.

"So, Philip, or is it Phil? Your one chance of getting out of here is to spill your guts. Who are you working for?" I was straddling a chair with my arms resting on the back. Colonel Mace was perched on the desk.

"Fuck off!"

"Not nice, Phil, not nice at all. Want to try that again before I make another hole in you?" I got my Webley from the holster and cocked it, holding it loosely in my hand, pointed in his direction.

"You wouldn't dare," he snarled. Oh, that was such the wrong thing to say to me. I fired and he screamed as the bullet ripped through his left foot.

"You were saying?" Out of the corner of my eye I had seen Mace flinch but he didn't say anything. He'd been around long enough to know how UNIT treated prisoners; a fleeting image of Toshiko in their detention centre crossed my mind. One of the guards looked through the office door but Mace waved him back.

"All right, all right, you bastard!"

"Calling me names is not nice." I cocked the gun again and he flinched.

"I said, all right! His name's Whyte, Peter Whyte. He hired us." That made a lot of sense, Whyte was Henry Parker's adviser on all things alien. We knew less about Whyte than about Parker which was saying something; we were going to have to rectify that omission and very soon. "We just guarded this place."

With some judicious questioning, Mace and I got the information we needed. Stokes and his two mates, both now dead, had been recruited through a contact in the murky world of soldiers for hire. They were paid £5,000 each – half up front, half on completion - to guard the wood store for five days from midday Thursday to midday Tuesday. On the Friday, the Cyber equipment had been brought in. On Saturday, one non-functioning Cyberman had arrived an hour or so before Tanizaki appeared. The doctor had checked the equipment and examined the Cyberman on both his Saturday and Sunday visits. Stokes had kept his eyes open but he and his mates had been kept well back by Whyte's own people who had been around all the time the Cyberman was present. What he did see had been through cracks in walls and peering round corners so we didn't know any detail. The Cyberman was taken away late on Sunday and the equipment was due for pick up on Tuesday morning.

Stokes was flagging by now so we let the medics have him to fix up his foot. Colonel Mace and I took a walk outside in the cool night air. It was close to ten o'clock and dark beyond the lights of the UNIT vehicles.

"What do we do with Stokes?"

"I don't want him. Think you can find room for him in one of your detention centres?" I looked across at him, waiting for the traditional denial.

"Of course." He smiled at my rueful nod. "Wanted me to deny they existed, did you? Don't see the point, Jack. They serve their purpose. Seems to me the person we need to find is this Whyte chap."

"Let me have first crack at that. He and Henry Parker are tight and we've got background on Parker. He's local. More immediately, Alan, we have to decide what to do with the equipment in there." I nodded towards the building.

"How about a little ambush?" Mace's face lit up like a schoolboy suggesting going scrumping. "It's possible Whyte and his cohorts don't know we've been here. I could leave a few men to watch the place, see if anyone comes by tomorrow to collect the gear."

The possibility of anyone not knowing UNIT had been here were miniscule but he had the manpower to waste. We agreed that he'd leave a team in place and the rest of us would get out as soon as possible. If Whyte's people came by they would be detained. If not, Colonel Mace would secure the equipment. This was the only part I was not happy about – I wanted it destroyed – but I couldn't argue too hard at this point. We needed to get back to Cardiff – I'd still not had word from Toshiko – and couldn't hang about. At least, not all of us …

A plan was forming in my mind.

"Tell me again, Jack, why do I have to stay here?" Suzie was facing me, hands on hips and her whole posture aggressive.

"Because I need someone here to make sure this stuff," I swept an arm to indicate the Cyber equipment, "doesn't fall into the wrong hands. All you have to do is be UNIT's guest for the night at their barracks then stick by Colonel Mace tomorrow. If Whyte and his buddies show, which I don't expect for an instant, make sure our interests are taken into account. It'll all be over by lunchtime when Mace will put you on a train. You'll be back in Cardiff before teatime." I beamed at her.

"What about Owen?"

"He can't do it, he's hurt."

"I know that! I meant, what are you going to do with him?" She looked exasperated now which meant she'd go along with the plan.

"Stick him in the back of the SUV and drive home with him bleating in my ear all the way." I moved closer now I was sure she was on board. "I have to get back to Cardiff, Lord knows what Tosh and Ianto will get up to otherwise. If they had the end of the world down there they wouldn't want to bother us!" She laughed at this and I gave her a quick hug.

Over the comms I heard Ianto's voice say, _"I resent that." _That set me laughing. I had thought the boy had turned in but it seems he was still on duty, listening in case he was needed.

"Get back to him, you two deserve one another."

I extricated Owen from the UNIT command truck and helped him into the SUV which was now parked outside the building. He didn't seem unhappy to go so I assumed he'd got shot down by the luscious Lieutenant Riley. With a wave to Suzie, we started on the long journey back to Cardiff. We stopped only once, at the South Mimms Services on the M25, to pick up some soup and sandwiches to eat in the car. I hadn't eaten since lunch with Helen Yardley out at Flat Holm which seemed a lot more than twelve hours earlier. Ianto's second thermos of coffee completed our repast.

Driving fast, I got to the outskirts of Cardiff in two and a quarter hours. Early on I had spoken to Toshiko – finally! – and she had assured me the Grenskill sonic shield was locked up in our stores and she was heading home as there was no more predicted activity. Ianto had chatted for a while but with Owen listening in I couldn't indulge in the sort of conversation I wanted to have. Besides, I could hear Ianto yawning so I told him to go to bed. Owen had been quiet for a while and I'd thought he was asleep but he spoke suddenly, bringing me out of my daydreams.

"Seems you were right, about Parker getting hold of a Cyberman."

"I'd rather I wasn't."

"We should have shut him down years ago. He's been collecting forever."

"Easier said than done. And half the time he only gets his grubby paws on harmless stuff."

"That we know of!"

"True." I slowed at a junction, then pulled out when the road was clear. "Want me to drop you off at home?"

"Yeah, may as well. Wouldn't be able to drive anyway."

"How is the leg?"

"Starting to hurt," he complained. "I've got some stuff I can take but I'll need a lift in the morning."

"No problem. But see how you feel, maybe you should take a day off."

"Fat chance! With Suzie slumming it with UNIT you've only got the geek and the teaboy. You need me!" He always had had a high opinion of his abilities – and a low opinion of everyone else's.

"That's not fair." I managed to keep a straight face but there was a laugh in my voice, I could hear it myself.

"'Cos it bloody is!"

After dropping him off, I was relieved to leave the SUV in its spot in the car park. After so long at the wheel I took a moment for a good stretch then took all three blasters and the empty thermoses with me into the Hub. It was half past midnight and the dimmed lighting made the place seem almost cosy. I put the blasters in the armoury and the thermoses in the kitchen then strolled up to the office but halted in the work area. Curled up on the couch was Ianto, his head on his – neatly – folded suit jacket. Kneeling, I kissed his lips.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," I murmured, kissing him again. He didn't stir but I could have sworn he was awake. "Ianto?"

"Not awake yet, need another kiss," he said without opening his eyes. I obliged and his arms went round me and we were soon locked together in a more passionate embrace than Beauty ever got from her Prince. "That's better," he said finally, sinking back onto the couch.

"Everything okay?" I stood up shrugging off my coat and putting it over a chair. I glanced at the Rift predictor but it still looked clear.

"Uh huh. Want something to eat, or a drink?"

"Nah, just you in your birthday suit." I grinned at him.

With slow movements he undid his tie and let it dangle from his fingers before dropping it on the coffee table. Next those nimble fingers went to work on his shirt buttons and soon his nice hairy chest was on view. All the time his eyes were trained on my face and a small smile played around his lips.

"Help me with rest?" he asked with a coquettish tilt of his head and one raised eyebrow.

"Come here!"

In a matter of minutes, his shoes, socks and trousers were on the floor and my hands were inside his very pretty red briefs. We wrestled pleasantly for a while, hands and lips exploring and my need growing by the minute. It was only when I was straddling him that I realised I shouldn't be doing what I was intending; shagging was out.

"Don't stop." Ianto's voice dripped with need and my flimsy resolve was tested to the limit.

"You know what Owen said. We can - "

"No. Take me, Jack, it's okay now."

With a naked and willing boy beneath me, it would have taken a stronger man than me to resist. With infinite patience and care and lots of lube, we had our first shag in days and it was good. What am I saying, it was great, glorious, stupendous! Afterwards, we went down to his room and did it all over again but in more comfort before finally getting some sleep.

The following morning was sunny and bright. I'd been out early and chased a Weevil back down the sewers, only took half an hour, and the exercise set me up for the rest of the day. After breakfast with Ianto, I checked with Suzie who was about to have her own. She seemed in a good mood too though doubtful there was any point in expecting Whyte or his men to show. Toshiko came in at nine having picked up Owen. He was limping more today than yesterday and started milking her for sympathy not that she needed much encouragement. We had coffee and a chat; he was on the couch with his leg up and the rest of us were sitting or standing around.

"Okay. We know there is a, thankfully, non-functioning Cyberman in Whyte's possession. Tosh, that's your priority for today. I want to know all there is to know about Peter Whyte. Check for known associates, haunts, the usual. We need anything you can find so we can locate the Cyberman. They don't give off any particular signatures to trace but keep an eye out for anything unusual. Owen, carry on analysing those samples from yesterday and keep an eye on UNIT. We need to know what they come up with. Also, I want to know where Tanizaki goes and who he sees for the foreseeable future. Ianto, we have information in the archives on Henry Parker. Track down every last thing we have and see if you can find any more on the Web etc. I'll go through that."

"If I find anything when I'm researching Whyte," put in Toshiko, "I'll pass it along."

"Fine, I'll leave that to you two. And while we're on the subject of you two." I looked at them sternly. "You went off comms last night when I'd told you specifically not to. Not knowing what you were up was a distraction I could have done without."

Toshiko chewed her lip and looked at the floor. Ianto looked down too, hanging his head in shame I hoped. I let the silence go on. We had been lucky. If the Rift opening had deposited something more dangerous than a sonic shield, events could have turned out very differently.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It was my fault," said Toshiko finally. "I told Ianto to turn off the comms."

"No it wasn't," he said immediately. "We both agreed. I'm sorry too." She had squared her shoulders and both were now looking me in the eye.

"But we did have it under control," she added.

"You were lucky!" I snapped back. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again, either of you! I need to know I can trust you."

"You can." Her voice was steady and sincere and I believed her. Ianto was nodding and looking suitably contrite.

"All right, we'll say no more about it. Now, get cracking. I expect to see some results."

"That all they get? A slap on the wrist?" I should have known better than to speak to them in front of Owen. "You suspended me."

"That was your third time," I pointed out.

"And Suzie got shot," added Toshiko.

"Hey, it may have escaped your notice but I got shot!" He pointed to his leg melodramatically.

"Not because we turned off our comms." She was not giving in to him, good for her.

"Why is it you who's always injured?" Ianto's question was interposed into the conversation quietly with a hint of wonder. We all looked at him. "Well, he has been hurt three times since I joined you. That's once a week."

"Good point. Owen, stop getting hurt it's bad for morale. Now, kids, to work."

Everyone was smiling – maybe not Owen – when I left them to it. They all knew what they had to do and would do it best if I wasn't standing over them. The Rift was quiet for the moment so I went to the office and started writing up the notes on yesterday's events. With that done, I looked through some of the general alerts. Nothing much of interest to us, no violent deaths that we could have used the Glove on. There had been a third disappearance in the Beacons; Marcus Oliver, a thirty five year old plumber on his way home from an emergency call out. His car was found abandoned with no trace of a body. It had been the same for the earlier two – Dafydd Carson and Jennifer Ridge – which intrigued me. I put an alert on reports so I'd be notified of any more in the area. It wouldn't be the first time an alien had made a nest up there.

"The files on Henry Parker, sir." Ianto was standing in the doorway with his arms full.

"Ah, right." I was taken by surprise, I had no idea we had so much on him. "Put them down here." I cleared a space and he dumped them down. "This is Henry John Parker, right?"

"Yes, sir. You did say you wanted 'every last thing' on him."

"I did. I do. I just didn't know there would be this much." There must have been two dozen files of various thicknesses and differing ages.

"The most relevant are these." He picked up the top three. "The rest have references to him although one or two are pretty obscure but I thought they might be of interest. This is a summary of what's in each and I've flagged the important documents."

"Thanks." I was impressed. While my anticipated half an hour spent reading a slim folder was turning into a marathon research session he had made it easy.

"I'll start collecting the information from the Web now. Should be ready before lunch."

He smiled cheerily and went off leaving me with the mound of paper and a threatening headache. Opening the top folder, I wondered how much more paper would land on my desk when he'd completed the rest of his task.


	38. Chapter 38

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Eight

"Here's the stuff from the Web," said Ianto coming into the office. He handed me another wodge of papers secured with one of those tag thingies with plastic ends. "How are you getting on?"

"All right. There's a lot more here than I realised." I smiled up at him. "We'd never have found it without you."

"Any archivist could have found that." He never accepted compliments, always doing himself down. In my quieter moments I wondered why – something in his childhood maybe? - but I didn't have time to consider it further at that moment. "Lunch'll be here in half an hour."

"Good."

He left and I went back to the folders spread all over my desk. Ianto really had unearthed a lot of information. I had started a profile, listing all the times we had come into contact with our local alien collector, Henry John Parker. The first time had been back in 1962 – ah, the dawn of the Swinging Sixties, good times – and he'd popped up about a dozen times since. He was an avid collector, ranking up there with Hank Van Statten and Connor Blackstaffe, though they had more money than our Henry. Most of the stuff he had accumulated was harmless but now we knew he had got his hands on a Cyberman it put him in a whole different league. Although, as I'd gone through the papers, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the guy. He had made his name back in the forties when he was only thirty and acquired millions from his inventions but he'd not done anything since. His marriage had been childless and when he'd lost his much-loved wife he'd done a Howard Hughes. Flicking through the stuff Ianto had left with me, I saw it was mainly newspaper cuttings about his purchases and speculation about Parker himself. It's strange how cutting oneself off from the world makes the Press more interested. Parker should have stayed in the public eye, no one would have bothered about him then.

Deciding I'd done enough, I went to get some water. I needed to walk about a bit and clear my head. Toshiko was at her desk, tapping away and only looked up to smile before continuing. Owen was in the medical bay whistling tunelessly. Ianto had disappeared so I assumed he'd gone up to the Tourist Office to wait for lunch. Sipping the water, I walked over to the armoury and checked it over. The blasters I'd dumped had been put away in their slots and it all looked very neat; more evidence of Ianto's presence.

"Jack, your mobile's ringing," called Toshiko. Sticking my head out of the armoury I could hear it.

"Thanks." I made it to the office before the ringing stopped and grabbed the mobile. "Harkness."

"_Hey, Jack. It was a washout up here. No one showed."_ It was Suzie and she sounded bored.

"Didn't think they would. You coming back?"

"_Yeah. UNIT are clearing the wood store as we speak. I've persuaded Mace to keep the equipment at his local headquarters for now, we don't want it disappearing into their Black Archive. And he's going to delay his reports to give us a bit more breathing space." _

"Well done." It was. UNIT standard procedure was for full reports to be submitted to the upper echelons within twenty four hours of any operation. I was getting to like Alan Mace more and more, not many junior colonels would take a chance like that with their career. Of course, he could have been lying to Suzie. We'll have to keep any eye on him.

"_I'm off to Paddington. Should be with you mid-afternoon."_

"Great. Call when you get close to Cardiff, one of us will come pick you up."

"_Will do." _

I was asking Toshiko to monitor Mace's communications when Ianto appeared with a big box of food. We took it up to the Boardroom while he went off to make coffee. It was Chinese and we were soon tucking into the various dishes he'd selected for us. I steered the conversation away from Cybermen and all we'd been doing lately. Everyone needed a break from the subject, especially Ianto. The boy was holding up well but I didn't want to put him under any more pressure. Luckily I had an ally in Owen.

"Tosh here says your bird was a nuisance yesterday," he began, pointing a chopstick out towards the Hub where Myfanwy was lazily wheeling around.

"I didn't!" she protested but her blush told me that she was fibbing.

"What happened, Tosh?" I loaded more noodles on my plate and added another pork ball. "Did she attack you?"

"No. Not attacked as such. It's just she .. well, she swooped down and … well, the noise and the downdraft was a bit ..."

"Tosh was frightened." Owen was blunt and to the point. "I know what she means. I've been my own here when that thing has come flying out of the gloom. It's damned scary."

"You feel that way too?" I asked Ianto.

"No."

Owen snorted. "'Cos he doesn't! The thing likes him. He feeds it."

"Okay, what do you want me to do about it?" I really wanted Myfanwy flying free to deter any unwanted guests who may get into the Hub. The sorts of creatures we deal with could manifest themselves anywhere and did not need to use doors. Our shielding was good but nothing is perfect. But, on the other hand, I also wanted my team to feel safe when working on their own.

"Lock it up. Not all the time," Owen continued before Ianto and I could interrupt, "just when we need to."

"How are we going to do that? I'm not going up there to lock her in every time you get scared, Owen." Ianto was standing up for himself which was good to see.

"Quite right, even if I would get a great view of your arse!" As I hoped this released some tension and sent a lot of dirty looks in my direction. "Seriously, I'm sure we can replicate the signal to call her back to her nest. But to keep her there we'll need a cage of some sort, one we can lock remotely." I looked at Owen and Ianto who were studiously ignoring one another. "I'll leave you two to come up with something."

Giving them a joint project would keep Ianto's mind off Cybermen and Owen out of my hair. I also wanted to see if they could work together. So far they were only sniping at one another. I didn't want it to get more serious and have to lose one of them from the team. They accepted my decision with various mutterings but they didn't refuse. We got on with our meal after that.

"Do you have time to show me some of the artefacts downstairs?" asked Ianto as he cleared the table. "I want to get an idea of how much is down there."

"Ah, yeah, think I could find a hour or so. Tosh, Suzie'll be calling to organise a lift from the station. Gives me a heads up and I'll go."

"Okay. I'll have all the stuff on Whyte by then."

I went off with Ianto, happily expecting a romp in the archives. That was why he'd asked to go down there, right? Wrong! He really did want me to give him a tour of the basements. I was cruelly disappointed but no amount of sulking made him relent. So we went round the rooms and I think he grasped the scale of the problem. We've always taken some care of the artefacts; they were sorted by type and properly labelled. Anything we knew to be dangerous was secured but the rest of the horde was a mess. Previous teams had started putting stuff on shelving but when that had got full boxes had been filled and dumped on any surface, including the floor. In one room, full of domestic implements, we could barely get the door open for the boxes wedged against it.

Ianto sighed as we entered the fifth room full of this detritus of nearly a hundred and fifty years of Torchwood in Cardiff. "How many more rooms like this, Jack?" he asked.

"Not sure. Ten maybe."

He sighed again, pushing through the boxes along a narrow path. I stayed where I was, watching him but also wondering how we'd let it get this bad. It had been better once but lack of staff and lack of interest had resulted in the present chaos.

"What's in this room?"

"Not totally sure. Mainly small stuff, jewellery stuff like that." I noticed a yellow statue, idol I suppose, with just one eye. That had come from Torchwood India back in 1924, one of the few pieces I'd not handed over to London.

"Are they all alien? This looks ordinary enough." He held out his palm on which lay a signet ring with a large tag attached. "Says it was dug up in 1901, in Bute Park."

"Let me see." I turned it over in my hand and wiped off the dust. "This emits an etheric particle signal. Kind of a homing signal, useful if you have to leave something behind and want to find it again." They had been standard issue in the Time Agency and I wondered how this had come to be in Cardiff.

"So it is alien." Ianto put it back where he had found it. "At least most of this stuff has a description and a date, that's something."

"I told you before, Ianto, there's no need to get it all done straightaway. And you should talk to Suzie. She's in charge of artefacts and knows what she put down here most recently. Start with that."

"Okay."

We left the room and started walking back along the corridor. Ianto seemed a bit disheartened so I pulled him into a corner and kissed him long and slow. He responded but his heart wasn't in it, I could tell.

"I think you need a change. Have you been out today?" I was still pressed against him and looking into those baby blue eyes of his.

"No. Maybe I should."

"I'll be going to get Suzie, come with me."

"Wow, a trip to the station. Can't contain my excitement." He smiled. "You're treating me like a poodle again, sir."

"All right, just get out for a while. Go to your flat, go shopping, go -"

"Shit!" He rarely swore and he shocked me now. "I had some library books in the flat. They're still there."

"That's settled then. I'll drop you off and you can take the books back. Got enough for the fines?" I was joking but I'd got stung once. Took a book out in 1946 and didn't take it back until 1989. "Want to go and see your sister tonight?" I ventured.

"I don't think so." He frowned and looked at me like a little puppy dog. "Johnny'll probably be around. Do you mind if I put it off a bit longer?"

"It's your call, Ianto." I gave him a hug and we started back up the corridor, walking slowly. "Gonna have a day off this week?"

"I'll see. We're pretty busy and if Tosh is in Scotland on Friday we'll be short again."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't have a break. Take an afternoon at least."

"I'll think about it." I didn't push him. We were busy and anything could come out of the Parker/Cyberman investigation. I needed the full team around – just in case.

When Suzie finally called at three forty I was sitting with Toshiko going through the stuff she'd found on Whyte. I was happy to put the discussion on hold and get some air so grabbed my coat and Ianto and we headed out. Suzie's train had been held up and she was expected into Cardiff Central at four five leaving enough time to swing round to drop off Ianto. Suzie was waiting when I drew up outside the station.

"What's been happening?" She was doing up her seatbelt as I extricated the SUV from the vehicles coming in and out of the ridiculously small parking area. "Find the Cyberman yet?"

"Nope. We've found a lot of info about Parker and Whyte that I'd like you to look over. No obvious signs about where they'd be keeping it."

"Okay. But I need to be gone by six."

"I know, it's Tuesday." I grinned, still intrigued by her weekly assignation.

"It's the only time I get to myself, Jack," she retorted defensively. "I don't think it's too much to ask."

"You're right. And thanks again for staying in London. You did wonders with Mace." A bit of flattery never did any harm.

"He's okay. Was really peeved when no one showed to collect the gear."

"As if they could have missed UNIT trampling all over the place."

She filled me in with a bit more detail about her day which had been spent hanging around waiting for something to happen which never did. I brought her up to speed on the rest of the team's activities and we were all caught up when we walked into the Hub. She joined Owen and Toshiko in the work area while I went on to the office. The papers on Whyte were on my desk but I had had enough of paperwork for a while. That was all I'd done for most of the day. I needed something to get me out and about and hoped for a Weevil to appear. Of course, when you want they want one they're never to be found.

"How you feeling, Owen?" I asked, stopping at his desk.

"All right. Might get off early though, if that's okay."

"Sure." He looked paler than normal and I'd seen him wince as he moved about. A bullet wound hurts and he'd need a couple more days to recover fully. "If you need a lift, maybe Suzie'll take you when she goes."

"Oh yeah, it's Tuesday. She's off to her S&M club," he smirked. Twisting round in his chair he grinned at her where she was standing by Toshiko's desk.

"Is that where you go?" I was delighted with this new piece of information.

"No it is not! Honestly, can't I have any private life!?" She flounced off to her desk to the sound of our laughter. Toshiko looked disgusted with us and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. She'd already agreed to stick around for a while to cover; there were no predicted alerts but anything could happen.

"Those tests I was doing haven't come up with anything conclusive," said Owen. "UNIT are still working on it but they'll not find anything either." I concentrated on what he was saying. He had been running tests on the samples we'd taken off the Cyber-conversion units and equipment.

"Not sure whether to be pleased or not."

"Know what you mean. As for Tanizaki, he's safely back at his clinic. I've got markers checking for his movements and Tosh is monitoring his phone and e-mails. I printed off a list of recent visitors and his staff." He held up a sheaf of papers. "I'll run a background check on them all. Other than that, I was planning to wade through his published papers."

"Good. If he moves we need to be ready."

The door alarm sounded and Ianto strode through the cog door. He looked furious and made directly for me. "You had me sectioned!" he shouted, poking me in the chest with a finger. "You," poke, "told," poke, "my," poke, "neighbours," poke, "I was crazy!"

"What are you talking about!?" I took a step backwards to escape his angry words and his poking finger. If I could bruise, I'd have a large one on my chest.

"When you kidnapped me and brought me here, you told Sadie Matthews that I was crazy. That I was in a mental hospital!" His voice was still loud and Suzie had come over to see what the fuss was about. Owen was looking on in amusement and Toshiko, returning from the kitchen, stood by her desk open mouthed. "She is the biggest gossip in the building. She told everybody!"

I looked round helplessly. It may have been only three weeks ago but I couldn't remember what cover story we'd concocted when we'd taken Ianto into custody. "Did we?"

"Ah, yeah," confirmed Suzie. "I told your next door neighbour. Large woman in a flowery dress - "

"Sadie!" Ianto was not calming down.

" – and Tosh altered the records to show you were in the Tillman Clinic," she continued. She was unperturbed but then she hadn't been poked with that accusing finger.

"Good place that," commented Owen, not helping one little bit. "The best for miles and they charge a fortune."

"Missing the point here, Owen," stormed Ianto. "I am not crazy. I have never been crazy. I do not want records showing I am crazy!" The latter was shouted.

"Well you're acting crazy right now."

I pulled Ianto off Owen eventually. I don't think he would have hurt him, not permanently. Suzie got Owen out of the Hub as I held onto Ianto and Toshiko started making things right. He was only truly satisfied when she had deleted all the Clinic's records in front of him. Then he stormed off to his room.

I thought of asking for a coffee but even my bravery has its limits.


	39. Chapter 39

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Thirty Nine

It was eight o'clock and I'd sent Toshiko home half an hour earlier. I was sitting at her desk, double checking the Rift predictor. It was showing no activity for the next twelve hours or so and I was looking forward to a quiet evening when Ianto walked across the lower level. He had changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and looked scrubbed, like he'd had a shower.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye, neither of us acknowledging the other. He went to the coffee machine and made a brew. He put mine down on the desk in front of me.

"Sorry." He was leaning against the railing and spoke softly.

"It's okay." I sipped the drink.

Toshiko and I had talked about the cover we'd used when we'd taken Ianto into our custody. She had been upset as the psychiatric hospital had been her idea. It had taken a while to convince her but she'd eventually accepted that it had been a good call at the time. Where we – not her, we - could be criticised was not remembering and putting it right when Ianto had joined the team. The incident had reminded us of Ianto's earlier concerns when we'd covered up a Weevil kill; maybe the boy did have a point and we should have more regard for the consequences of what we do.

"Tosh gone home?"

"Yeah, about half an hour ago."

"I'll call her and apologise."

"She'd like that. Did you get to the library?"

"Uh huh."

We drank our coffee in silence. I closed a couple of programs on the screens in front of me and smiled when a picture of the Tenquoo appeared. Toshiko had used it as a screen saver after all. The little aliens had only been gone a couple of days but it seemed much longer. I do hope they made it back home.

"Any joy on the Cyberman?" Ianto reached over and took my empty mug from the desk.

"No. Is that why you were so touchy?" I turned to look up at him.

"Yes. No. Partly." He shrugged and smiled slightly. "I had an aunt, great-aunt actually. She was in a home."

"Sorry. We just forgot to change it back, Ianto, that was all."

"Yeah. I'll go call Tosh." He walked off to the kitchen and after a moment I went back to the office.

The papers on Whyte were still there, waiting for me. Toshiko had delved deep and we had a good amount on him. Peter Keith Whyte, forty two, born in Wrexham and educated locally. As an engineering apprentice, he had met Parker when he'd won a prize Parker had sponsored. There was no indication they'd stayed in touch – it was around the time Parker went into seclusion – but the contact had been made. Whyte had got his qualifications then set up a small garage with two others. The story came to life again in 1992 when he had been suspected of bank robbery. He had not been charged but it was pretty clear he had provided expertise in planning the raid. From then on his links to the criminal world had led him into various exploits none of which had led to conviction. The first time he was known to have been working for Parker was in 1996 when he was his agent in the purchase of a Mercurian tribal headpiece which later turned out to be a fake. (The sellers were beaten to within an inch of their lives but wouldn't say who did it.) He popped up occasionally after that, at auctions and such, buying up alien pieces.

Whyte's private life had included an early marriage and swift divorce followed by a series of liaisons with leggy brunettes. He lived in Sully in a large house with the latest brunette and a couple of dogs. He was currently at home and we were keeping tabs on him, his car dealership and a couple of warehouses he owned in Merthyr. By following him we were hoping to get a lead on the Cyberman. If nothing came up in the next few days, a raid on the warehouses would be on the cards. I thought of calling Alan Mace and updating him but decided against it; I'd call in the morning.

Looking up I saw Ianto beside Suzie's desk, rummaging through the equipment she kept handy. "What are you up to?" I asked as I joined him.

"Looking at the welding gear. We might need it, for the cage." He straightened up and gestured to the all the stuff around the desk. "What does she do with all this?"

"All sorts."

I moved closer and looked at the accumulation of tools and artefacts and other stuff. Suzie dabbles in a lot of things and needs a fair amount of hardware. That's why her desk is here, to give her room to do her thing without affecting the others. On a pegboard behind the desk were various artefacts including the knife that we'd found with the Resurrection Glove. I picked it up, balancing it in my hand. It was a strangely beautiful design for a warrior's weapon and it fitted snugly in my hand. There seemed to be some stains on it which I didn't remember seeing before.

"You think she'd help with the cage?"

"Yeah, 'cos she will." I replaced the knife and turned back to him. "You and Owen come up with any plans yet?"

"No. I'll ... I'll try and talk to him in the morning, if he's being sensible. You hungry?"

"Yeah, want to go out?" I let the remark about Owen pass, these two had to find their own way to peace.

"No. There's plenty of food, I'll make something."

"Need a hand?"

"Okay." He smiled at me then, a proper smile, and I knew things between us were back to normal, whatever normal might be.

The rest of the evening was spent doing ordinary things, like anyone else in the city. He made a stir fry and I was permitted to chop some vegetables. Most of the time I stood and watched him moving round the kitchen. He was humming, obviously enjoying the domesticity that sent me running for the hills. We ate side by side on the sofa watching TV. Not that there was anything worth watching. There were soaps, a wildlife documentary, people stuck in a jungle doing unspeakable things, police shows – real and fictional – or something about embarrassing illnesses that was gross. We settled for the wildlife programme and watched deer in the Scottish highlands. Very restful. By the time that finished, Ianto was curled up beside me, his head resting on my shoulder.

"What films are on?" he asked, taking the remote. He flicked through the channels and found one he liked. "Let's watch this."

"It's half way through. We won't know what's going on."

"I've seen it before. I'll explain."

We started out sensibly with him telling who the characters were and why they were doing what they were doing but it soon degenerated into silliness and we were laughing too much to watch any more. Besides, having him close was too much for me. We kissed and fondled one another before turning off the TV and disappearing into my quarters; his room was too far away.

My mobile rang several hours later as I was clearing the plates and mugs away. When I found it, hidden under folders on my desk, the display indicated it was Charlie Barnett, a hack with the _Western Mail_, and someone I'd cultivated as a contact over the years. What he told me sent me to Toshiko's PC to check the Rift and I cursed fluently. The monitor had not alerted us to an opening that had occurred two hours earlier over Newport. The Roman garrison of Isca, now Caerlon a suburb of Newport, was manned once more!

Quick calls to the rest of the team set them in motion. It was three thirty two am and they were not pleased to be called in but they were coming. I headed back to my quarters to finish dressing and shook Ianto awake.

"Up you get, gorgeous," I told him, reaching for a clean shirt. "The Roman army is on the march."

"Huh?" He was only half awake, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his eyes. If I hadn't had the legions to deal with I'd have been on him in an instant.

"We have Romans in Newport. And I don't mean Italian tourists." I checked I had everything then started up the ladder. "The others are on their way. We'll need coffee."

I went back to analysing the opening but temporal displacements are damned difficult. I hated to admit it – I had been a Time Agent after all - but Suzie and Toshiko are better at this than me. Giving up, I moved to the police channels and listened in. A group of soldiers was camped in the old amphitheatre which – luckily – is set apart from the residential area. However, a detachment had been spotted marching up the High Street close to the museums. The coppers thought it was a re-enactment group larking about but when one of their number had been cut down they thought again.

"What is it, Jack?" asked Toshiko, dumping bag and coat on the coffee table and settling into her chair.

"Roman soldiers in Newport. I hate these temporal displacements!"

"Oh my," she said. She was tapping away at the computer getting all the information she needed to see that this was a difficult one. "I thought you meant one or two. There's sixteen of them."

"I know."

Using the CCTV, we watched as the police built a barricade to keep the six Roman soldiers in Newport High Street from advancing. From a purely intellectual point of view, it would have been interesting to see how riot shields and Kevlar vests stood up to a Roman gladius. Not too well if the injured PC was anything to go by. The door alarm sounded and Suzie and Owen came hurrying in.

"Right, kids. Grab your coffees and listen up." Ianto had made the drinks and was handing them round. "We have Roman soldiers in Caerlon. There was a Rift opening a couple of hours ago that didn't activate the alert. Tosh, make a note to look into that later. Six of the soldiers are in the High Street surrounded by half the Newport Constabulary. One PC has been injured - "

"He's dead," put in Toshiko. "Died in the ambulance. And the police have called in the Army."

"It'll be a bleeding blood bath," said Owen succinctly.

"Right. Because, as well as the mob in the High Street, there's ten more camped in the amphitheatre, four hundred metres away. The police are there as well but staying well back. We have to defuse the situation and get the Romans out of there."

"How are you going to do that?" Suzie was standing looking over Toshiko's shoulder.

"I was hoping you lot would have a few ideas."

"We could use a sedative," suggested Owen. "Just got to get close enough to inject it." He put aside his coffee mug and moved to the medical bay. "I'll grab some."

"Would tear gas be any good?" asked Toshiko, still monitoring the action on her screens.

"Stun grenades would be better," said Suzie. "We have some Jiwizipps downstairs that emit directional blasts. Stun the legions then sedate them." She looked at me enquiringly.

"Sounds good," I grinned, pleased to have a plan of action. "You get the grenades. Tosh, you're with us; coordinate from the SUV. Tell them we're coming and to hold off taking any action. I'll talk to whoever's in charge on the way. Owen, your leg up to this?" He had come back with a metal container which I presumed held the sedatives and was slurping down the last of his coffee.

"Yeah, long as I don't have run around too much."

"Good. Ianto, we'll need some way of getting the Romans back here; they won't fit in the SUV. We have a van in the garage - "

"I know. Suzie showed me last week." He was serious but looked keen to help which was encouraging. The others were used to these sudden alarms, he wasn't. Over his arm he had my greatcoat which he helped me into now.

"Excellent. You follow us in the van but stay back until we call you in. And look out some Retcon, we may need it." I looked round as Suzie trotted over with boxes of grenades. "Looks like we're ready. Let's get moving."

I led the way to the garage with Owen, Suzie and Toshiko on my heels. It would take us twenty minutes to get to Newport even with Toshiko keeping traffic lights in our favour and the minimal traffic at this hour. Suzie drove and I called Inspector Matthews, the man in charge. He sounded as if he had things under control but whether he'd be able to keep the Army from blowing up Newport was another matter. Ianto called to say that he had set off and was about ten minutes behind us in the anonymous white van we used to move large stuff or bodies around.

The drive was uneventful, just a fast journey up the M4 and into Newport. The Romans in the High Street had made an attempt to get out of the corner they'd been backed into but had been repulsed at the cost of two more injured police officers. The latter were on their way to hospital with deep wounds to their legs but were expected to live. The soldiers at the amphitheatre were still camped round their fire, seemingly oblivious of the Army and police surrounding them. Toshiko had confirmed that the Roman soldiers were wearing the insignia of the Second Augusta which had built and manned the Isca fort at the end of the first century AD keeping the Welsh tribes in order. Nice of them to come back for a visit.

Suzie slowed as we entered Newport town centre. The Army had thrown up a roadblock and were reluctant to let us through at first. I wasn't putting up with that nonsense and told them so. We got through and drove on to join the other troops in the High Street. I got on the comms and called up Ianto.

"Ianto, when you get into Newport, stop just inside the Army roadblock until we tell you to come forward."

"_Understood."_ His calm voice was music to my ears. Now he just had to do as he was told.

"Owen, Suzie, you're with me. Tosh, stay here and do your stuff. Okay, let's see what we've got."

We tumbled out of the SUV. A knot of emergency vehicles were parked along the street and we walked past small groups of paramedics and reserve coppers until we reached Inspector Matthews and his command post. He was standing behind a barrier of police vehicles and Army Land Rovers with a Lieutenant who looked no more than fifteen. I know I'm old but soldiers and police officers are getting younger and younger. Rumbling from a side street attracted my attention; the Army were bringing in tanks!

"Suzie, go have a look at what we're dealing with." I nodded in the direction of the noise. Six shouting Romans can make a heck of a din. "Captain Jack Harkness," I said, introducing myself, "Torchwood".

"Good. I'm Matthews, this is Lieutenant Forbes - "

I cut him off. "Lieutenant, stop those damned tanks. You'll have half the town in ruins from the vibrations alone." He did not look pleased but he did order the tanks to stop where they were. "Inspector Matthews, what's the position?" I asked. Matthews was in his fifties and experienced and I recognised him. We'd worked together before when he had been pragmatic about Torchwood's involvement; he'd be all right.

He explained that the Roman soldiers were barricaded into one corner of a plaza. Civilians had been evacuated from nearby buildings and everyone was being held well back. He and Forbes had been discussing their next move when we had arrived. When I said we'd use stun grenades he accepted with evident relief; he did not want to destroy half the town with tank shells or have a lot of indiscriminate gunfire which had been Forbes' contribution.

"It looks good," reported Suzie coming back. "The Romans are in a small area and the grenades will work fine. But we'd better not hang about, they look ready to charge again."

"Okay. You and I'll chuck the grenades. Owen, come behind us with the sedatives."

We went forward and I got my first glimpse of the detachment facing us. They were big and beefy - and quite arousing; I was looking forward to having them in the cells. They were shouting and banging their swords on their shields and I could understand why native tribes had been overawed by the discipline and power they exuded. This was only six, what would it have been like to face a whole Legion? Making sure the police officers were far enough back and wearing protective gear like ours, Suzie and I lobbed a couple of grenades each into the square. One got chucked right back at us but a copper batted it away safely with his riot shield. The sudden flashes of light and blasts of sound had the Romans on their knees and I waved the police officers to follow me. Between us, we kept them down long enough for Owen to inject the sedative.

Six down, ten to go.

* * *

_Just wanted to thank you all again for your support. I've never had so many reviews or alerts before! Jay._


	40. Chapter 40

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty

The white van came up slowly, weaving between the emergency vehicles and stopped on the edge of the plaza. "Bit more, Ianto," I told him over the comms, waving my arms to show he should come forward; no one wanted to have to heft these Roman soldiers any further than necessary. The van crept forward then stopped. "Owen, you and I need to get to the amphitheatre. These okay to be moved?"

"Yeah. They won't be coming round for hours."

"Good. Ianto," I said as the boy walked towards to me, "these kind gentlemen," I waved at some grouchy looking coppers assigned to help, "have volunteered to help load up these slumbering legionaries." My arm swept on to indicate the soldiers trussed up on the ground.

"Try and keep 'em sitting up," offered Owen. "You know, kinda wedge 'em against the sides."

"Umm, if you say so." Ianto did not look too sure how he was supposed to do this. I sympathised, it sounded a bit odd to me too.

"Just get them in as best you can. When we have the others, they'll be wedged in so tight they won't move." I patted his arm reassuringly. "We're off to join up with Suzie at the Amphitheatre. Follow us as soon as you can."

"Okay."

Owen and I jumped into the SUV and, with Toshiko still in the back, we went off along the High Street and down a couple of side roads to the site of the amphitheatre. It had been discovered and excavated years ago and was now lots of lumps and bumps and some stubs of walls in a green field. If it hadn't been signposted no one would have known what it was.

"Everything's just as it was, Jack," said Toshiko. "The soldiers don't seem to have moved which is … weird."

"Why?" demanded Owen rudely.

"They're Roman soldiers. They were the best trained and organised for hundreds of years, how can they not have noticed all the activity around them?"

"You're right." I paused before getting out of the SUV, thinking through what she had said. "Any sign of other activity? Flanking movements maybe?"

"I don't think so." She was tapping her keyboard. Toshiko doesn't get out on operations much but when she does she adores sitting in the back seat accessing all the information and directing us. Once she called me – me! –the chauffeur for her mobile office.

"Let's just get on with it," urged Owen. His door was open and he was ready to jump out.

"There's nothing definite, Jack," went on Toshiko not distracted by Owen for once, "but there might be something twenty metres north west of the main campsite."

"Okay. Thanks, Tosh. I'll check it out."

Owen and I got out of the SUV and went to join Matthews, Forbes and Suzie who were gathered around the bonnet of a Land Rover looking at a map. A couple of minutes was all it took for them to show me what they had planned: a ring of soldiers and police officers moving in slowly towards the campsite and, when we were close enough, more grenades. It sounded fine to me.

"Suzie, you go in from here." I stabbed a finger at a point on the map. "Owen, stay with her but a bit behind. I'm going over there." I pointed to the north west where Toshiko had thought there might be something going on.

"Why?" asked Suzie, obviously puzzled.

"Owen'll explain."

I went off at a lope to join the circle at the relevant point. Using my wrist-strap scanner I surveyed the area and there was a blip around the spot Toshiko had indicated. After a quick exchange with her, I took two soldiers – nice boys – with me and went off to investigate. Clambering over bits of ruined wall in the half light was not my idea of the best way to spend a Wednesday morning but I'd rather be doing that than be surprised from behind. Over to our right, the circle was tightening and I stopped to take a quick look. They were around four metres from the campsite when some of the Romans – I thought it was six of them - shouted, leapt to their feet and linked their shields around and over them. They had formed an almost impregnable barrier which would have worked against other weapons. I saw the grenades roll up to the barrier but before they exploded I was grabbed from behind and a gladius slit my throat.

The gladius had struck deep and true and I died instantly. Whatever it is that keeps bringing me back kicked in and I came back to life after about thirty minutes. It was lighter and I was lying on my back at the bottom of a ditch on something soft. Looking up groggily I saw Ianto was holding me.

"Fuck!" Ianto dropped me, horror-struck at my resurrection. My head slid off his knee and hit the ground – hard.

"Ow." I rubbed the back of my head and struggled to sit up. "It's okay," I told him.

I didn't feel okay, on two counts. First, I had a headache and felt tired, the usual post-death sensations. Second, and probably more important, Ianto had just seen me come back to life. Damn. That was the last thing I needed. I liked the boy, enjoyed having him around, and now he would be heading for the hills as fast as he could go to get away from me and my unnatural state. I raised my gaze and looked at him. He was sat back on his heels, staring at me. Blood stained his hands and sweatshirt from where he had held me and his eyes were watery. Old tear tracks were on his cheeks.

"You were dead," he said slowly.

Thoughts of denying it were immediately suppressed; Ianto was not an idiot and he had obviously been close enough to know for sure exactly what had happened. "Yes, I was. But I'm not now. Ianto," I reached a hand to him, pleased he did not flinch as I made contact with his arm, "I will explain, but later. Just don't say anything, please?"

After a very long minute, he nodded. He was still staring at me like I was something weird. Which I am - until The Doctor fixes me. I looked down and saw the blood caked down my shirt and on the collar of my greatcoat. A moment later, he reached a tentative hand and brushed it against my throat; it was bloody when he took it away.

"Your throat was cut." I realised then that he was in shock from seeing the blood and me dead as much as from the fact I'd come back to life. He was a mixed up boy and I had just screwed him up even more.

"But it's all mended now. Come on, Ianto, up you get." I got to my feet, pulling him with me. I had to put aside my own feelings and be strong for him – bloody hard when I had Weevils banging drums in my head and just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. "Now, what's happening? Did the grenades work?" I hoped this would divert him, make him snap back to normal.

"Yeah … yeah, they worked."

I opened the comms. "Suzie, status report."

"_Jack, where the hell are you!? Are you all right?"_

"Got tangled up with a legionary and knocked out. What happened?" As I spoke I realised I was not far from where I had been attacked. A short way away were the bodies of the two soldiers I'd commandeered to accompany me, their throats slit like mine had been.

"_Seems Tosh was right about an ambush. Only six of the legionaries were at the camp, the other four found you. Sure you're okay?" _

"Sure. There are two dead soldiers though. Non-Romans."

With a hand on Ianto's arm, I nudged him out of the ditch until we stood looking across the amphitheatre. Soldiers and police were wandering around and I spotted Owen at the white van with Toshiko. They were supervising the loading of the Roman soldiers. Six, no, seven body bags lay in a neat line nearby. A moving figure became Suzie; she had seen me and was jogging over. Ianto moved away from me slightly, his hands thrust into his pockets and an impassive mask on his face. He was clearly shocked – understandable in the circumstances – and trying to make sense of all he had seen. There was nothing I could do about it right then. Further discussion had to wait until we had more time and were alone.

"Jeez, Jack, are you sure you're okay?" Suzie asked, coming to stand in front of us. She too was staring at my blood soaked shirt.

"Yes. Now, what happened?"

"I'll go and get someone to help with these," said Ianto, indicating the two dead soldiers. He walked off and I was relieved he had said nothing to Suzie. It gave me some breathing space; I had no idea what I was going to say to him.

"Roman tactics are more sophisticated than we thought," Suzie began. "Their ambush was bloody good. If you hadn't been up here they'd have really caught us napping. As it was, you delayed them until after we'd used the grenades on the six legionaries at the camp. We'd barely started securing them when the other four came running at us out of the gloom. Cut down three of us before they were killed. The soldiers shot them, they didn't have a choice."

"I see that. So we have what, twelve live legionaries all told?"

"Yeah and four dead ones. And, with those two," she looked at the dead soldiers lying almost at our feet, "five of our own dead: four soldiers and one policemen." She sighed. "Bit of a mess."

"You don't say. How the hell do we cover this one up?" I rubbed at my temples, the headache getting worse: the Weevils were dancing as well as banging drums.

"Tosh is working on it." Susie and I moved aside as Ianto led some medics across to the two dead soldiers. "How does this sound? A criminal gang employed a group of hired thugs to playact as Roman soldiers and divert the police while they ram-raided the shops in the High Street. Matthews is going along with it, and with the evidence Tosh'll provide everyone else should be convinced too."

"Sounds good enough. Best if we get out of here then, don't want the Press sniffing around us for a story."

"Too true. Looks like Tosh and Owen are finished." She looked back at me. "You should get Owen to look you over. You look like death warmed up." I heard Ianto's sudden intake of breath as he turned and strode off. "What's wrong with him?" Suzie looked puzzled as well she might.

"He has a thing about the sight of blood." I gestured to my shirt. "Come on, let's go."

Unfortunately my vague plan of riding back with Ianto went out the window when I was needed to wrap up details with Inspector Matthews and Lieutenant Forbes. Neither man was overjoyed at the loss of life and I had to spend time convincing them to go along with our cover story. By the time they were satisfied, Ianto had driven off in the white van with Owen and Suzie and Toshiko were waiting impatiently to follow them.

"You drive, Suze," I said as I wearily clambered into the passenger seat. "Good work on the cover up, Tosh."

"I think it'll hold," she said from her favourite place in the back. She was working the computers and seemed happy.

Suzie eased through the vehicles still clustered around the entrance to the amphitheatre and was soon clear. As we drove down the High Street, I saw a few police officers letting the locals back into the evacuated buildings. The Army tanks had departed, thank God, and it seemed like Caerlon would be back to normal very quickly. There were some TV vans parked around the plaza but we managed to sneak by unnoticed. It reminded me that it had been Charlie Barnett who had alerted me in the first place – I owed him a story.

"Why did Owen go with Ianto?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes open. I felt bone weary but couldn't take a nap. I was also hoping that Ianto would keep his mouth shut; Owen was the last person I wanted to know my secret.

"I told him to." Suzie was driving faster now, going up the slip road to join the M4. "Like you said, Ianto was upset at seeing you like that." I stared at her: had he said something?

"I'm not surprised," put in Toshiko. "Where did all the blood come from?"

"Huh?" It was the tiredness making me slow, I'm sure.

"On your shirt." I was looking at her through the gap between the seats and her eyes flickered from my face to my shirt front and back again. "There's a hell of a lot."

"From the Army boys and I think from one of the legionaries. Not too sure, it all happened pretty fast." It was time to change the subject. "Now this is all done, any movement on Whyte?"

"All done!?" scoffed Suzie. "You do realise we have twelve legionaries to sort out when we get back to base, a cover to build and reports to write? And it's not even seven o'clock!"

"When you put it like that …" I grinned at her and was pleased when she responded in kind. Suzie has a great temperament, most of the time.

"Whyte's still at home, lucky him," said Toshiko from behind us. "If he follows his usual routine, he'll leave around nine for the car dealership. No movement at the warehouses."

"Okay." I yawned hugely. "Sorry."

"You really should let Owen take a look at you. You could have concussion." Suzie sounded concerned.

"I'll all right, just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."

"None of us did!"

The rest of the journey was uneventful. We caught up with the others at the motorway exit and proceeded in convoy to the Bay, parking side by side in our secure area. I watched Owen carefully but he didn't look my way or seem overly concerned so I deduced that Ianto had kept his new knowledge to himself. Toshiko went in and started the usual tasks of the day while the rest of us loaded up some trolleys with sedated and dead Romans and trundled them to the cells. This took a while and I happily left Owen and Ianto to sort out who went where and to settle them in. In my quarters I stripped off my ruined shirt and chucked it away; that much blood never comes out completely. I made the mistake of sitting on the bed for a moment and in no time I was lying down fast asleep.

"It's best to leave him." I heard the words as I started to surface from sleep. A man's voice, nearby; Owen, I reasoned.

"Are you sure?" Toshiko definitely, but coming from above me. Opening my eyes I saw her head framed by the hatch to my quarters. "Oh!" she cried in surprise.

"Don't get up yet," said Owen who was standing by the side of the bed. He bent over and shone a light into my eyes. "Reckon you had mild concussion, mate."

"How long have I been asleep?" I sat up regardless of his words. My head was still aching but not as badly and the worst of the tiredness had gone.

"Two hours. How you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, Owen. Well, bit of a headache maybe." I may as well get some painkillers to get rid of the last lingering effects.

"Sounds about right. You should be okay to get up, but take it easy. I'll put some painkillers ready for you." He went to the ladder, climbed up and disappeared through the hatch. Toshiko's head had already disappeared.

I took a few minutes to splash some water onto my face and put on a clean shirt. Feeling a bit chilly, I added a waistcoat over the top and then climbed up into the office. A bottle of water and some painkillers were on the desk and I swallowed the latter, looking out of the glass wall. Toshiko was back at her desk but there was no sign of the others. Checking my watch, I confirmed it was gone ten o'clock.

Walking into the work area, I stopped beside Toshiko. "Whyte on the move?" I asked.

"Uh huh. He's at the dealership, nothing out of the ordinary yet."

"Where are the others?" I had looked around but no one else was in sight.

"Suzie popped out to see a contact. She said to remind you to talk to Colonel Mace as soon as you can. Owen's down with the prisoners and Ianto's upstairs."

"Right." All very normal and Ianto had got as far away from me as he could without actually leaving the Hub. "I want to give Charlie a heads-up on the Caerlon story. Email me what you've already sent out so I can give him a bit of a colour. Any idea why the monitor didn't alert us?"

"Not yet. I have diagnostics working on it."

"Good. I'll call Mace and Charlie then."

Back in my office I sat behind the desk and took a moment to collect my thoughts. It didn't help, I still had no idea how I was going to convince Ianto that I was not some kind of monster.


	41. Chapter 41

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty One

I made my calls.

Mace was anxious, wanting to push for more action on tracing the Cyberman but when I explained our little run-in with the legionaries he understood the delay. I promised him we'd get on to it and he seemed content but I knew I only had another twenty four hours at best before he had to make his report. The call to Charlie Barnett was easier. I had the information Toshiko had planted and I ran through it with him, adding some colour from information we would be releasing later in the day so he could scoop his rivals. He went away happy.

"How you feeling?" asked Owen from the doorway.

"Okay, thanks. The legionaries?"

"Just starting to come round. They have thick heads and are a right charming bunch! Any idea what _'pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo'_ means?" Owen had looked down at the papers in his hand, he'd obviously written it down, phonetically I expect, which I assumed meant they had said it more than once.

"Ah," I was smiling, not sure how to tell him. "It's not nice."

"What does it mean, Harkness!?"

"They said this to you?"

"Yeah, over and over." He stepped into the room. "If you don't tell me I'll go look it up on the Net."

"Right. Literally … it means 'I will buttfuck and facefuck you'. It's a pretty common insult." I was grinning now. His expression was priceless. For someone who swore more often than anyone else I'd worked with in a long, long time he's easily shocked.

"It … you … they … Fuck!"

"Hey, don't take it so personally."

"Why not!?" With that he turned on his heel and went out. I saw him slam the papers down on his desk and storm into the medical bay.

Toshiko looked up, met my gaze and raised her eyebrows before getting up and walking towards me. "May have something on Whyte's warehouses."

"Tell me." I waved her to the visitor's chair.

"He took over the lease when the previous business, a spice importer, failed two years ago. I'm pretty sure he's using them to store stolen cars. There's a thriving black market with Eastern Europe for luxury models." She consulted her notes. "Every two months he has a container delivered and ships it out the following day. The paperwork says it's full of domestic electrical appliances, washing machines and such like, and it's always cleared by the same Customs official, Justine Wetherspoon, at the container port at Swansea. She must be getting a backhander to turn a blind eye; she lives way above her means and deposits five grand in cash into her bank three days after every container leaves the country." She looked up at me. "Whyte had a container delivered today."

"Did he?" I was sitting forward now, arms resting on the desk. "So if he wanted to ship out a Cyberman, say to Tanizaki's clinic, now would be the obvious time."

"That's what I thought."

"Good work, Tosh. Get plans of the warehouses and a security schedule. I assume he does have security?"

"Yeah, he does. There's a -"

"Not now, Tosh," I interrupted. "Get it all together and we'll go through it with the others. We're going to have to go there tonight, another late one."

"The best time would be around one AM."

"Okay. You get on with that and I'll get everyone together."

The meeting took place an hour later, at eleven thirty, over an early lunch which I for one was ready for; I'd missed breakfast. We met in the Boardroom as Toshiko wanted to use the big screen. While I waited for everyone to settle down I took a good look at Ianto. He was back in his suit and tie and his face was expressionless. He barely looked at me, fussing with the coffees and the pizzas and then sitting at the other end of the table with his head down not talking to anyone. I badly needed to talk to him.

"Right, kids. Tosh has found out more about where our Cyberman could be hiding. Tosh."

I handed over to her and she went over the information she'd told me earlier. Eating my pepperoni pizza, I listened but also watched the rest of the team. They were listening with unusual attention, either they knew how serious this could be or they were tired after the early start. Probably a bit of both. The plans of the warehouses came up on the screen and Toshiko ran through the security schedule she'd gleaned from the CCTV. Basically, there were a team of three security guys: one in the building and two on patrol outside.

"We're going in tonight," I told them when Toshiko had finished, "when they're at their least observant."

Owen groaned. "Not another bloody all-nighter."

I ignored him. "We'll go through the details later, I want you all to go home when we're finished here and get some rest. Be back at midnight."

"That's cutting it a bit fine," said Suzie. "It's a good forty minute drive."

"Okay, eleven thirty. Is there anything I need to know before you head off?"

"There are no predicted Rift openings for the rest of day." Toshiko was sitting back at the table, nibbling on her pizza. "And the monitor didn't react last night because the opening was small – the temporal ones can be. I've adjusted the parameters so it won't happen again."

"Thanks. Suzie, what did your contact want?"

"Sod all! Total waste of time." She looked disgusted. "What do you want to do with the legionaries? Long term, I mean."

"Give 'em to me. I'll give 'em living autopsies." Owen had still not got over being insulted.

"What!?"

"Long story, Suzie, I'll tell you later," I told her with a smile. "Do you think UNIT would take them?"

"Probably." She was still looking at Owen, her forehead creased in a frown. "I'll talk to them but I doubt they'll take them for a couple of days."

"Fine." I could see Owen grin wolfishly; I'd have to keep him away from them. "Owen, what about you?"

"Got the dead legionaries to autopsy but there's no great rush. It's pretty academic. Not much otherwise. On Tanizaki, there's been nothing from the checks on his staff but guess who called on him two weeks ago." He grinned at us. "Whyte. And he may be getting ready to receive a Cyberman. He's cleared his diary for the next week."

"It's all adding up. Thanks, Owen. Ianto, anything from you?"

"Nothing." He shook his head and kept his eyes on his pizza. Not good, not good at all.

"Right. Get off as soon as you like, all of you, and be back here by eleven thirty."

Owen was on his feet and out of the door. Like me he eats fast and had finished his lunch long before and obviously wasn't intending to hang around longer than absolutely necessary. I had a quick word with Suzie about the report on the goings on at Caerlon and when she'd finished eating we walked down to her desk where we went through what she'd done so far. By the time we'd finished, Toshiko was ready to go and the two women went out together. Which just left Ianto. He was in the kitchen, bagging up the pizza boxes and putting the mugs in the dishwasher. When he turned round and spotted me watching him, he ducked his head and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I'd like to talk to you, Ianto. If you're not too tired."

"I … um -"

"Please, Ianto." He looked at me then, meeting my gaze.

"All right."

I led the way back to the work area and settled on the couch. I'd hoped it would be less formal than the office, that he would sit beside me and we could have an amicable conversation. When I saw him sit on Toshiko's chair and stay at the desk, I realised this was not going to be easy.

"You didn't tell them you died," he accused before I could say anything.

"Nor did you. You followed my lead, thank you."

"But you were dead. That legionary killed you."

I thought there was maybe the faintest doubt in his voice, as if he wanted me to deny it. How I wished I could oblige. But he'd only keep going over and over it, worrying at the problem until he finally unravelled. I couldn't do that to him.

"I can't die."

"Right." He did not sound impressed. Weird that, because that was he had seen after all. Why do humans rationalise what they see? Why don't they believe the evidence of their own eyes?

"But I can't. Something happened to me a while back. Long story and far away. But I was killed and then I was brought back to life. And ever since then I can't die."

He looked at me, meeting my gaze before sighing and looking away again. I didn't see disgust or horror in his face, it was mostly confusion and maybe pity. "But how?"

"I don't know. One day I'll find out – maybe – but until then -" I let the sentence hang. I didn't mention my long awaited and overdue meeting with The Doctor. This boy knew all about The Doctor from his time at Torchwood One and would put too many pieces of the puzzle together. Better to keep that nugget of information to myself.

"Nothing kills you?" he asked, meeting my gaze again.

"Not that I've come across. And it kind of freaks people out so I don't say anything unless I have to."

"The others? They don't know?"

"No. It's never come up." I shrugged and tried another smile.

We sat in silence for a while as he digested what I had told him. I was relieved he hadn't started to rant and rave or to accuse me of being an alien. That was what some of the others I'd told had done. Intellectually I understood that kind of reaction, just didn't like being on the receiving end of it. I'd been called a freak too often to be sanguine about it.

"Couple of weeks ago you were tired, like you were today. Did you die then?" I'd forgotten that. The Grivet had killed me and I'd almost drowned. And this boy had known something was wrong and let me sleep.

"Yeah." I waited for him to say something more but he sat chewing his lip and staring at the floor. "Ianto, I know it's freaky but it doesn't happen often."

"Every couple of weeks isn't often!?"

"That's rare. I can't remember the time before that." I could. It had been six months before when a wall had fallen and half buried me. I'd been chasing a Weevil on my own at the time and had had to dig myself out. Took ages.

"What's it like? It looked … it looked like it hurt."

"I don't know how to describe it. It's … it's like nothing else. And yeah, it hurts." We lapsed into silence again and this time it stretched on for three or four minutes. "Are we going to be okay?" He shrugged. "You ought to get some rest. We can talk again sometime, if you want to."

I stood up and went to the office. There was paperwork to do and I couldn't sit looking at him any longer. I was so sorry for him; he'd been mixed up enough before this landed on him. He'd gone through Canary Wharf; lost Lisa; had the trauma of his capture by us; started sleeping with me, though that was a good thing; begun to work here; been hands-on with aliens and their capture; and now this. As I sat at the desk he got up and walked off to the lower levels. I hoped he'd get some sleep. Just to be sure he was all right, I opened up the CCTV to his room using the special password I'd created to ensure no one else could access it. I could keep an eye on him that way.

I spent the afternoon catching up on the paperwork. Suzie's draft report on the Caerlon incident was sketchy – she'd had little time to do any more – so I filled in a lot of detail. Her version did tell me why Ianto had been there when I revived: he had volunteered to search for me when they couldn't raise me on the comms. Making a few notes of points still to be covered, I put the folder to one side and carried on with the rest. By five o'clock I'd had enough and went for a long, hot shower and changed my clothes. A brisk walk round the Plass cleared my head some more and I bought some doughnuts from the supermarket. It was gone seven when I got back to the Hub and checked the CCTV on Ianto. He was still sleeping. When I checked half an hour later, he was sitting up in bed and I decided to go and see him.

Knocking on the part-open door, I put my head round. "Hi. Thought you might like a doughnut." I held up the bag. "And I brought water too."

"Do you ever stop eating?"

I chuckled, taking this as a good sign, and walked into the room. "Not willingly." He took the bottle of water and moved his legs, making a space for me to sit on the bed. An even better sign.

"Let's have one then." Eating the doughnuts – lovely gooey jam ones – didn't leave a lot of time for talking so we just ate and enjoyed the sugary treat.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

"Not bad." He shrugged. "Too tired for nightmares." He took a swig from the water bottle, peering at me over the top.

"That's good." We sat in silence for a while, drinking. I was wondering if he was expecting to have nightmares about me or just his usual ones.

"Do you want to be … like you are?"

"No. But I don't seem to have a choice."

He sat forward, putting a hand on my arm. "I know Owen's a twat but maybe he could do something."

"Kind thought but no, this is way beyond him. Ianto, please don't worry about it. I am like I am and I've got used to it. I hope I can be fixed – there's someone who may know the answer – but until I find him, I'm okay with it." I put my hand over his and he didn't pull away.

"Okay." He removed his hand and sat back.

"I'd better go. Get some more rest."

I stood up and took a pace towards the door. I'm not sure why but I was disappointed that he didn't stop me leaving. It was foolish of me. He had reacted much better than some people I'd told and yet … and yet I wanted more. I suppose I had hoped he would fling his arms round me and tell me it made no difference, that he still cared. Ah well.

Back in the work area, I checked through my emails and the personal alerts I'd set up. These are very useful, picking up on particular words or phrases in hundreds of news outlets and databases. We use them generally for mentions of us or alien activity but I also like to keep tabs on certain people from my past who may need my help – or become a nuisance. One of these had activated and I was diverted by reviews of a new book Estelle had published. She's a respected writer on the occult but this one was about fairies which disturbed me. I didn't want her getting involved with them. It was too dangerous - as I had warned her a year or so ago. When I had time, I'd have to go and talk to her again.

I'd just about finished the emails when my mobile rang and after checking the display I answered it. "Hello, Archie."

"_The boxes have come, laddie."_

"What are you talking about?"

"_The lassie said there'd be some boxes. Well, they're here. Big ones." _It took a moment or two but then I remembered. Toshiko had said she was ordering some parts to enable her to sort out Archie's computer problems. They had obviously arrived.

"That's good. Leave them alone." He was a great one for fiddling with things and mucking them up. "Tosh'll be with you on Friday, if things are quiet." I hoped they would be, we couldn't cope with this level of activity much longer.

"_Maybe I should check them. Make sure - "_

"No, Archie! Leave them alone. Understand?" Honestly, it was like dealing with a child.

"_Och, if you say so, laddie." _He sounded disappointed.

"I do. Now, anything happening up there I should know about?"

We chatted for ten minutes or so. To my surprise, he had put out feelers about getting some help and was hoping to get results in the next few days. That was something Toshiko could check on when she up there; she'd do a much more thorough background check that he would. I finally got off the phone around eight thirty. Ianto had not appeared and checking the CCTV I saw he was still in his room. I didn't disturb him.


	42. Chapter 42

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Two

I was not surprised to see Toshiko arrive early that evening. She came through the cog door at ten forty, an hour before she had to, and settled down at her desk with a wave to me. As if he had been waiting for someone else to arrive, Ianto appeared a few minutes later and started pottering around. I hoped he made some coffee but he went up to the Boardroom and started running the vacuum cleaner round up there. At eleven ten, Suzie came in and I followed her to her desk.

"Thanks for this." I handed her the Caerlon file. "I've added some stuff but there are still quite a few gaps."

"Not surprised. I did tell you it was a first draft!"

"I know. I wasn't criticising." Boy, she was touchy all of a sudden.

"Good. Anything else?"

"No."

I beat a hasty retreat wondering what had upset her. She was usually even tempered but, I realised, there had been moments lately when she'd blown up over nothing. I decided she should have some time off soon. She had been working some crazy hours and obviously needed a break. Owen rolled in at eleven thirty five, late of course. The rest of us were gathered in the work area accepting mugs of coffee from Ianto. He was still quiet although I had seen him talking to Toshiko and Suzie. The latter appeared to be over her earlier upset I'm glad to say. I needed her at her best this evening.

"Okay, let's get on - now we're all here." I looked pointedly at Owen but he took no notice. "The warehouses are on an industrial estate which is pretty quiet at night. While that means there'll be no one around to see us, we'll have no cover for our approach."

"I've been checking the estate's layout," put in Toshiko. "There's a little used access road that should keep us out of sight. We can leave the SUV behind this building," she pointed to her screen, "and walk the rest of the way." It was about five hundred metres.

"Can you jam their CCTV from there?" asked Suzie, looking closely at the screen.

"Yes. I'll set up a loop, replaying some old footage."

"Good," I nodded. "Tosh, you'll stay in the SUV and update us as we go in. We'll have to avoid the two outside guards. They have a regular patrol and we can use one of the blind spots when they're both round the back of the buildings to get in."

"Want Retcon for the guards?" asked Owen.

"Bring it but I hope we won't need it. I'll take some knock out drops. The container is inside the right-hand warehouse – number forty three – but we don't know precisely what the internal layout is; Whyte had some work done a few months back. We find the third security guard and take it from there."

"If there is a Cyberman, Whyte will have additional security," pointed out Suzie.

"I've not seen anyone arriving but, who knows, they could have been in the container," said Toshiko.

"True. We'll have to see what we find when we get in the building." It was good to think of possibilities but I preferred to stay on the alert and be flexible, that way we should be ready for anything.

"How do we deal with the Cyberman?" pressed Suzie. Maybe her bad mood hadn't gone yet, she was certainly more pushy than normal.

"Let's just hope it's still not activated." I was pretty sure it must be otherwise Whyte's people wouldn't be able to move it around.

"That's a given. And assuming it is do we bring it back here? Give it to UNIT? What?"

"UNIT definitely aren't getting it. It should be destroyed so, I suppose, we bring it back here and dispose of it." Which could be easier said than done. They're not easy things to destroy but I figured incineration would do the trick – it had worked on the Cyberwoman's metallic parts.

"I suppose it'll go in the boot of the SUV," mused Suzie. "If not, we'll put it on the back seat and let Owen go in the boot." She said this so dryly that it was a moment before we realised what she'd said and chuckled.

"Oy!" protested Owen, catching on a second or two after the rest of us.

"Right, we'd better get off. Ianto, we won't need you with us on this one. Stay here and keep an eye on the Rift. Contact Tosh if anything comes up. Do not attempt to deal with anything on your own." I fixed with him my most penetrating stare which he met without flinching.

"Yes, sir."

In the flurry of getting equipment together and leaving, I didn't get a chance for anything more than a quick smile for Ianto. He seemed distant as he helped me on with my greatcoat. Once we were on our way, just after midnight, we talked a bit more about the plan but then got on to other things. Suzie complained about her neighbour whose kids had been running riot and woken her up early which explained her irritability. I don't think Owen had got any sleep, he was full of his exploits with a redhead he'd picked up in a bar. In the rearview mirror I saw Toshiko turn away and look out of the side window; she still cared for the doctor and hearing about his shenanigans hurt her. I managed to shut Owen up and get the conversation onto other matters which kept us occupied until we got to the outskirts of Merthyr.

What a rundown, grotty place it is. The town was the largest in Wales once upon a time but is now a relic of the industrial age. With the closure of the coal mines, the steel works and the ironworks it's been left to decay. As we slipped through the empty and rain-swept streets the place was grim. The only employer that looked to be prospering was the Hoover factory but I'd not be surprised it that packed up soon.

"What a hole," said Owen from the back, echoing my thoughts. "Who the fuck would want to live here?"

"People who have nowhere else to go," commented Toshiko.

"Did you see that TV programme last year?" put in Suzie, twisting round to look back at the others. "Said Merthyr was the third worse place to live in the UK."

"No bleeding surprise there, just look at it!" Owen's tone was hardly complimentary.

"The access road is on your left, Jack," said Toshiko bringing us back to the present.

I turned into the road, slowing down and creeping forward with the headlights off. As the street lights were spaced far apart or broken, there wasn't much light but enough for me to draw up behind the building we'd earmarked earlier. I parked in a deep patch of shadow, the black SUV disappearing in the gloom of the steady rain. It was twelve fifty, right on schedule.

"Okay, people, you know what we have to do. Tosh, where are the guards?" I used the rearview mirror again, pleased to see her concentrating on the computer in front of her.

"On their rounds. I've been monitoring them and it's the same as the last three nights. I'll be able to direct you in. The loop is active so they won't be able to see you on CCTV."

"Good. Everyone know what they're doing?" They all nodded, tension mounting in the vehicle as we prepared to go outside. "Comms on and keep them open. Ianto, you hearing us?"

"_Yes, sir. All quiet here."_

"Excellent. You keep watching and liaise with Tosh. Right, let's do this."

The rain was falling steadily as we made the short walk down the road, keeping to the shadows. I would have liked to do up my greatcoat but then I would have to carry my Webley in my hand and I didn't want it to get wet. Suzie was walking alongside me, using a PDA to scan ahead for hidden obstacles, and Owen trailed behind muttering about the Welsh weather. We stopped at the broken-down wire fence surrounding the two warehouses. They were set a little apart from the others in a slight dip and not overlooked, ideal for undertaking less than legal activities.

"_You should see a guard in one minute,"_ said Toshiko. _"He'll walk across the front of the warehouses. When he goes round the corner, you'll have two minutes to get to the door."_

"There he is," murmured Suzie.

"We see him, Tosh. Let's move."

The three of us began a slow walk across, hugging the fence until the guard went round the corner of the building. A quick sprint brought us to the door we'd selected, a side one that had the most cover. Suzie used a lockpick to open the door – very neat – and we were in. Using hand signals, I sent Owen to the right and Suzie and I crept to the left where she had pinpointed the guard. We saw him and I had to smile. He was sitting with his feet on a desk and his head back, snoring loudly. He hardly resisted as I put a pad covered with ether over his nose and mouth before lowering his unconscious form to the floor.

"Internal guard down," I said into the comms for Owen and Toshiko's benefit.

"_I've found the container,"_ reported Owen. _"No one else around."_

"We're coming."

With no need for concealment, Suzie and I walked through the centre of the building. There was the usual rubbish piled around but the area behind the main doors was clear and the floor dotted with oil stains. These and the smell of petrol in the air confirmed that Whyte was using it to house cars. The wall between the two warehouses had been part removed leaving a large square opening. The container was in front of us taking up most of the available space. Owen was standing at the back of it, by the open doors.

"There's three cars in here. A Lotus Evora, Lexus LS and Porche 911. Bleeding beautiful." Owen was a petrolhead and had a Boxster that was his pride and joy.

"Not what we're here for, Owen," I reminded him. I peered in the container and took a moment to appreciate the vehicles, they were gorgeous. They were firmly secured and packaging lying around showed that would be lovingly looked after on their journey. "I'll check in here, you two look around. See if there are signs of the Cyberman."

I was going through the motions now. The lack of additional security was pretty clear evidence that the Cyberman was not here – not yet, at least. Nevertheless, I checked the vehicles inside and out and made sure there weren't any hidden compartments in the container. Over the comms, I heard Owen give Toshiko some registration numbers he'd found and her confirmation that they belonged to the three cars I was looking at, which had no plates on them. All three had been stolen over the past five weeks.

"_Jack, may have got something." _

I left the container and walked over to join Suzie at a workbench. "What is it?"

"This." She held up thin metal tube with a right angle bend part way along it. "It's part of a Cyberman's antenna."

I took it from her and studied it. "You sure?"

"Yeah. The readings are the same as those we got off the Cyberwoman, Ianto's girlfriend. They're quite distinctive."

"Anything else?"

"No. The warehouses are clear otherwise." This confirmed my initial feeling.

"Has it been and gone or is it yet to come?" I mused, looking around.

"I hate to say it, but I think it's gone."

"Me too. But we can't be sure."

Owen walked over to join us and we discussed what to do next. Toshiko joined in over the comms and we agreed there was nothing to be gained by hanging around; we could monitor developments better from the SUV. We planted a few cameras to get coverage of action in the warehouses, Toshiko telling us where to put them, and then got out. We left the internal guard with his head on the desk, hoping he would think he'd dropped off, and timed our exit to avoid the external guards.

"We can't all stay here, Jack," said Suzie when we were back in the SUV. "Someone needs to be in Cardiff in case there's a Rift opening. The trains won't be running yet but there should be a taxi."

"No trains until gone six." Toshiko just loves getting information for us. "I can call a cab."

"Not from here." I started the SUV. "Get one to pick up Suzie and Owen outside the station. You and I'll stay here and monitor things."

And that's what we did. I parked near the station and waited until Suzie and Owen had gone. It was half past two in the morning in wet Merthyr Tydfil and we had nothing to do for several hours at least. The container wasn't due to be picked up until eleven and it looked like they'd load the Cyberman in – if they were going to – at the last minute. We drove around and found a transport café that was open and which looked reasonably clean. We were at the very limit of scanner range but we both needed some warmth and to get out of the SUV; large as it was we were getting sick of it.

An early breakfast seemed to be appropriate so I had a full English. Toshiko declined, opting for toast and honey instead. With that and coffee, we sat at a corner table and whiled away a couple of hours. The food was surprisingly good, even the coffee was drinkable. I found an abandoned newspaper. It was a day old but I rarely read one so it was all news to me. Still monitoring the scanner, Toshiko started on the crossword and we puzzled over that together when she got stuck. Sudoku followed which she just whizzed through in no time, numbers are her friends. At five, we could linger no longer so went out to the SUV. It was still raining, a steady drizzle, but I didn't mind after the warmth of the café. Standing by the vehicle, Toshiko in the back already, I called up the team.

"Anyone still awake back there?"

"_I'm here, sir."_ It was Ianto, still manning his post.

"Hey, Ianto. The others around?" It was good to hear his voice.

"_Owen's asleep on the sofa and Suzie's having a nap in my room."_ Large as the Hub is, we'd never set up a rest room, a problem when we were working late. _"What's happening there?" _

"Tosh and I are getting extremely bored. Know anything about Welsh poets? Two words, both eight letters. The second is probably Williams." This was the only clue in the crossword that we hadn't been able to complete. "The first word starts with N."

"_Nantlais?" _

"How do you spell that?" I scrabbled in my pocket for the paper - the café owner had let us take it - and checked as he spelt it out. "Yeah, that would fit. Thanks."

"_You two really have been bored, sir."_ There was a smile in his voice evident even over the airways. _"The Rift is quiet though there's a opening predicted in four hours. That's why the others are getting some sleep now." _

"Good. Make sure you get some shuteye too."

"_I'm fine. Suzie said you're staying there until eleven, that right?" _

"At the moment. We're playing it by ear. Oh, Tosh wants you."

I let Toshiko talk to him, about some technicality she wanted checked, and got into the SUV barely listening. Ianto had seemed his usual self, still making his wry observations. I didn't want to read too much into this as it was only when we were alone I'd know for sure how things stood between us. Settling behind the wheel, I realised how much can happen in twenty four hours. The night before, he and I had enjoyed an evening of TV and lovemaking before the Romans had arrived and he'd become privy to my secret. Would we ever have a night like that again? Or had I lost the companionship I was starting to rely on?

"Jack, do you want Ianto for anything?"

"Well," I leered at her, covering my own confused thoughts.

"God, Jack, you are so predictable!" Toshiko rolled her eyes. "That's it for now, Ianto, thanks."

"_Okay, bye."_

"We'd better find somewhere to park up so we can see what's going on at the warehouses."

I started the engine and drove round the outskirts of the town which was just waking up. Spotting a newsagents, I stopped and went in for supplies. I came out with two newspapers, a car magazine, some bottles of water, half a dozen bars of chocolate, a tube of fruit pastilles (Toshiko's favourite) and a book of Sudoku puzzles. We carried on to the industrial estate which was still quiet and found an isolated spot in the car park of an empty warehouse which gave us a view of Whyte's buildings through some trees. I fiddled with the window settings and they darkened so no one could see in then we settled down to some kill some time.

We got good at crosswords.


	43. Chapter 43

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Three

"Done." The satisfaction in Toshiko's voice was evident.

"Finished them all?" I asked, looking back at her. I was in the front passenger seat, half turned so I had a better of the warehouses and of her.

"Yep." She grinned, looking very young for a moment. I could imagine her as a little girl with that same look of achievement on her face. She held up the book of a hundred and fifty soduko puzzles - which she'd completed in less than half an hour – and waved it about triumphantly.

"Without looking at the answers?"

"The answers are in here?" She checked the book again, totally unaware that the solutions were printed in the back. "Why do they do that?"

"Because some people aren't as gifted as you."

I put aside the magazine I'd been reading. It was ten twenty three and nothing was happening. Well, nothing that interested us. Cars and vans had been up and down the road to various warehouses and workers had arrived. At numbers forty three and forty four, Whyte's buildings, a half dozen men had arrived around eight o'clock and disappeared inside. They had been dressed in overalls and looked like mechanics. A few minutes later, the three security guards had left without raising an alarm about our presence; the one we'd sedated must have thought he'd fallen asleep on the job. Using the cameras we'd put inside the buildings, Toshiko had reported that the men were packing the container to protect the cars. As time had passed with no sign of the Cyberman, it was becoming clear that we'd missed it. It had been there at some point – the piece of antenna told us that – but it was gone now. However, having wasted so many hours, I decided to see it through to the bitter end. Another half an hour or so and the container would be on its way.

They were having more action in Cardiff. The Rift had opened shortly after nine and Suzie and Owen had gone to investigate. I'd listened in but the two of them had had it under control and were now back in the Hub with the Phyte, an alien who had been unlucky enough to be picked up by the Rift and deposited on Earth. From all accounts, it was in a bad way and wouldn't survive. I'd spoken to Suzie who assured me all was well. The legionaries were kicking up a rumpus again and I warned her about letting Owen near them. No word from Ianto but that was to be expected, he never put himself forward.

"The trailer for the container is on it's way. Should be about quarter of an hour." Toshiko was back at her computer.

"Good. Soon as it's loaded, we can get off."

"Want me to tip off Customs?"

"Umm, scotch Whyte's little scheme? Tempting." It was and I mulled over the suggestion. "No, better not. Not this time. He may use this route for something interesting in the future."

"The cameras we set up are powered for six months so we can keep an eye on what he's doing." She was tapping away at the keyboard. "They've finished with the container. It's locked and sealed now."

"Oh well, it was worth being here to make sure it wasn't used for anything other than cars." I shifted in the seat, uncomfortable from sitting still for so long. "There's one bar of chocolate left, want to go halves?"

"Go on then." She held out her hand. "Will it still be okay to go to Scotland tonight?"

"Damn, forgot to tell you. Archie called yesterday, said some boxes had arrived."

"I hope he didn't open them!"

"I told him not to." I popped a square of whole nut in my mouth and sucked to get the chocolate off the nut before crushing it between my teeth. "You'd better get off as soon as you can. It's a long drive and you've been up most of the night, or are you going to go by train?."

"I'll drive. I feel okay but I won't hang about. I can crash at the hotel tonight." She nibbled on her chocolate. "If it takes longer than I expect, okay if I stay another night?"

I shrugged. "Archie's paying."

"Yes, but will you need me back early on Saturday?"

"I hope not, I really hope not. This week has been way too busy what with the Cyberman in Chingford, Romans and this useless stake-out." I rubbed my eyes, trying to keep myself awake. I wasn't sleepy – I don't need much – just bored. "I was going to try and give Suzie a day off, she's been a bit antsy lately."

"I noticed." She said this with feeling before looking at her screen again. "The trailer just entered the estate."

"Okay." I moved and the last of the sweet wrappers and other detritus of my stay in the front seat dropped onto the floor. "When you're up with Archie, see if you can find out more about the people he's supposed to be recruiting. I'd like to make sure they're suitable."

"All right. Ianto's going to kill you for making such a mess."

I turned and grinned at her disapproving face. "Gotta give him something to do."

"If he puts you on instant coffee, don't say you weren't warned. Here's the trailer."

We watched as the big lorry turned into the delivery area and backed up to the warehouse. Ten minutes later it was loaded and lorry and container trundled out of the estate. I followed at a discreet distance until it hit the main road for Swansea then turned off and made for Cardiff. It was great to be moving again and we did the run in just over thirty minutes. Toshiko spent most of that time talking to Suzie, updating her on on-going issues, so she could spend as little time as possible in the Hub. With a six hour drive ahead of her, she was not going to hang about.

"So it was a waste of time?" said Suzie, as we walked in. She was on her own in the work area, sitting at Toshiko's desk.

"Yep. Whyte did have a two day head start on us." I looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Owen's down in the cells with the Phyte and Ianto's in the archives. I've done what you wanted, Tosh," she went on, looking over at Toshiko who had just hung up her coat.

I left them to it, going into the office to see what had landed on my desk. Not too much, luckily. Hanging up my greatcoat I missed Ianto there to do it for me which gave me an idea. I was gasping for a coffee, an excellent reason for a visit to the archives. Tripping down the steps, I walked along to the registry and there he was, standing at the row of filing cabinets using the top for something.

"Ianto," I said breezily, "there you are."

He jumped, startled by my abrupt arrival. "Sir. You're back then."

"Uh huh. And it's been twelve hours since my last mug of decent coffee. Any chance?" I stood with my hands in my trouser pockets, grinning at him.

"Ahh," he checked his watch, "I suppose so." He looked down at what he had been doing and I saw he had the alien document reader.

"Oh, how's that working out?" I wandered over to stand beside him. It was tempting to run a hand over his back and down to his arse but I stopped myself. After what had happened between us, he had to make the first move.

"Quite well. I've tried it on a selection of files now, sir. It picks up everything in the older files and the most recent. It's the ones in the middle it doesn't like." He shifted about and I decided he was uncomfortable having me so near. Damn.

"Better than nothing, I suppose." I eased away from him, putting some distance between us so he wouldn't feel threatened. "When Tosh is back, maybe you two could give me a demonstration."

"Where's she gone?"

"Glasgow. Should be back on Saturday. Anyway, coffee?"

"Yes, I'll go now."

He turned and walked out and I watched him go, still loving the look of him in his suit. Seems that's all I'll get from now on, the sight of him. With a sigh I pushed myself off the cabinets where I was leaning and followed him up to the main level. It was early days, I kidded myself. In my heart of hearts I knew that whatever we had had was gone for good. He couldn't bear to be around me.

The coffee was wonderful and I drank it in the work area. Owen had returned and Suzie was sitting at Toshiko's desk, the latter having gone home before starting on her drive. We caught up on events and finally, around midday, I had no more excuse to put off calling Alan Mace.

"_Mace."_ He sounded very serious on the phone, much more colonel-like than when speaking to him face to face.

"Alan, Jack Harkness. I'm afraid our raid on Whyte's warehouse was a washout."

There was a pause. _"Where does that leave us?" _

"The Cyberman was definitely there, we found part of an antenna, but my guess is they shipped it out on Tuesday before we could get there." I filled him in on what we'd found, having decided that we needed to share information. "If, as we think, it's at or on the way to Tanizaki's clinic in Geneva there's nothing more Torchwood can do. It's over to you, you've got the world-wide organisation."

"_Right. I can talk to the Swiss. You'll send me a report of all you found? I'd like to include it with mine." _

"I'll pull it together and get it to you this afternoon. We'll keep an eye on Whyte and Parker and let you know if anything happens this end. I'd be grateful for the same courtesy."

"_Of course."_ He paused. _"I don't like this rivalry between UNIT and Torchwood, neither of us can afford it." _

"I'm glad to hear it but I'm afraid some of your colleagues don't share that view. There's just one more thing. The cyber-conversion unit and other equipment we found, it should be destroyed."

"_We could learn so much from it,"_ he protested.

I cut across him. "And it could be used against us. Please, Alan, make it disappear or give it back to us and we will." There was a long pause. "Alan, you still there?"

"_Yes, I was thinking."_ He sighed heavily. _"Too many of my people have seen it. But if you make a direct request, in your inimitable way," _he chuckled, _"I'd have to send it to you." _

I laughed, this was my kind of guy. "I'll send an email right away. How rude do you want me to be?"

"_The usual will be fine. Anything else, Jack?" _

"No, that's it for me. Keep in touch."

Sorting out the report for Mace took me the best part of two hours even with some help from Suzie. I wanted to give him the information he needed but at the same time there were some details I'd prefer to keep to myself. Eating lunch at my desk – more pizza – I got it all sorted and zapped it off at two o'clock precisely. I'd persuaded Suzie to take the afternoon off – there were no predicted Rift openings - so it was just Owen, Ianto and me in the Hub. I carried on and added the details of the morning's operation to our rather fat folder. Another three quarters of an hour later, I was finally done.

Wanting a break, I got up and went to see what the others were doing. I'd heard voices and various noises so wasn't surprised to see they were busy. Standing leaning on the railing, I looked down into the lower level where they were making a cage for Myfanwy, at least I hope it was for her. The welding gear had been dragged over and rods of gifisol, an alien metal that was very light but strong, were piled nearby. It looked as if Owen was directing operations but Ianto wasn't taking much notice. He had on the welder's mask and apron and was joining up the rods to make a grid of bars; that boy can turn his hand to just about anything.

In a break in proceedings, I cleared my throat to attract their attention. "Are you going to make that down here?" I asked very politely.

"Where else d'you expect us to do it?" demanded Owen.

"It's just … How are you going to get it up there?" I looked up the highest reaches of the Hub. Manhandling a cage, even one made of gifisol, would be impossible.

Owen looked at me pityingly. "We're making the sides and then going to assemble it up there," he said, rolling his eyes.

"What's this 'we'? Don't see you doing anything," said Ianto. He had raised his mask and looked so sexy. If we ever got back on loving terms I was going to have to get him to wear it again. Though without the suit.

"I'm the brains, you're the brawn," asserted Owen. He turned his attention back to me. "And if you've got nothing else to do, how about sorting out the recall signal?"

"Yes, sir!"

With some bits and pieces from the stores, I sat at Suzie's desk and built a remote recall using the same wavelength as my wrist-strap. It was fun to do something practical for a change, usually Suzie or Toshiko would have taken over, and I took pains to make it look professional. I was tempted to add some fifty first century flourishes but decided against it, practical was the name of the game. By the time I'd finished, I had a small box with a switch on one side which activated the signal to call Myfanwy to the nest. The box fit nicely in the hand and was a minor work of art. All those years as a Time Agent when I'd had to cobble together tools from whatever I could find were paying off.

Owen was taking one of the completed sides of the cage up to the higher levels so I went to stand by Ianto who was finishing the last one. He was making a good job of it.

"Where did you learn to weld?" I asked when he turned the torch off.

"School. Is that the recall?" He nodded towards the box in my hand.

"Uh huh. I was going to try it but she's already on the nest."

"Not for much longer. She always flies off when Owen gets close."

Turning, I saw he was right. Owen was on the same level as the nest and Myfanwy was getting agitated, flapping her great leathery wings and squawking. With a final snap of her beak in Owen's direction, she lifted off and circled round. I depressed the switch and like an obedient puppy she returned to the nest, taking Owen by surprise. He almost dropped the piece of the cage he was holding and we could hear him cursing.

"I suppose you think that's funny!" he shouted down at us.

"Yes!" I shouted back.

"Stop buggering about and get up here and help me."

"This is the last piece," said Ianto, taking off the mask and apron. He looked pretty good in his shirtsleeves too, all sweaty from welding. "We're going to bolt it together up there." He lifted the grid and started for the steps.

"How are you going to open the door?" I followed him, enjoying the sight of his lithe body bobbing about in front of me.

"One side will be held up by a magnetic catch. When we want her to stay put, we release the catch and it falls into place. Suzie made that for us."

"And to get it open again?"

"She's fixed that too, not sure how it works but she says it will."

Finally reaching the top level, Myfanwy decided three of us invading her space was too much and flew off again. We manoeuvred the pieces into position and bolted three sides and the top together. It was a large cage which allowed her room to move about inside. The final side of the cage, the front, was more difficult as we had to sort out Suzie's catch. I understood how it was supposed to work but it was fiddly getting it in place. After some trial and error and catching my fingers in the mechanism it was set.

"Shall we try it?" I asked, grinning at them.

"Go on then, smartarse." Owen retreated along the walkway and Ianto and I followed.

Myfanwy had been circling, keeping a wary eye on what we were doing and came back promptly when I sent the signal for her to return. She found her way in without any difficulty, although she batted at the bars a few times to test them out. Ianto released the catch and the front door descended. It was a bit slow and could have caught Myfanwy if she'd stuck her head in the way so I adjusted it. Flicking the other switch, the door lifted and settled back in its open position.

Everything worked like a dream and we decided to celebrate with a drink.

* * *

_Wow over 350 reviews, thank you so much - Jay_


	44. Chapter 44

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Four

A night out with the boys, I've had a few of those in my time. There were the carouses with my fellow Time Agents where hyper-vodkas had flowed like water; evenings in saloons in nineteenth century America where everyone wore a six-shooter and someone died most nights; desperate hours in French bars away from the front line trying to forget the horror of gas and shells and death; Cardiff pubs with sawdust on the floors and dockers selling stuff they'd filched; the officers' mess after a raid when friends had been shot down and killed an hour before. Good times and bad times and all of them involving three things: alcohol, boasting and sex.

This night had the alcohol, even I was indulging, boasting from Owen but no sex – not yet anyway - but some boasting about sex. We had moved from pub to club and back again over the past five hours and had had a curry somewhere along the way. The establishments we'd patronised had at first been full of workers just out of the office but now held partygoers and serious drinkers. We had kept on going, talking about nothing of any interest at first before concentrating on discussions of the available talent. Of the three of us, only Owen was interested in following up but he was the one least capable of doing anything about it. He was wasted, I'd not seen him so drunk for ages. I guess the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him. When he hit on a woman and her boyfriend objected – violently - Ianto and I decided to get him home.

"I'm shinging in the rain, jusht shinging in the rain .."

Owen had a decent voice and was using it as he meandered along Lloyd George Avenue, weaving from side to side of the pavement ahead of us. I had hoped the cool air and steady drizzle would sober him up but it hadn't worked. Another of my plans that was going wrong. I looked across at Ianto, walking beside me, and wondered why I'd ever imagined he'd be able to accept me. All my attempts to reconnect had been rebuffed. He didn't want to talk to me unless he had to and had given no sign that he wanted me physically. He may not have freaked out but this distancing himself from me was worse. I hated his politeness and the expressionless face, I'd rather he shouted and raved.

"Careful, stay off the road." I grabbed Owen's arm and pulled him out of the path of a car; even at gone ten o'clock there were buses and other traffic heading to the Bay and beyond. He stumbled into me and giggled, grabbing hold of my lapels and walked along with me; I had to put my arm round his back to hold him up. The bulk of the Millennium Centre was just ahead, not far to go now.

"You shhaved me, Harkness. Shhaved me from a haccident. Shhaved me after Katie." He was starting to get maudlin, not a pretty sight.

"Someone had to. Come on, we've got to cross the road." He staggered over Hemingway Road, still clinging to me. I pushed him away and he managed to walk under his own steam.

"You did, Jack, you did. You shhaved me."

"What are you going to do with him?" asked Ianto, his first words in ten minutes or more. He was looking at Owen like a scientist looks at a particularly noxious specimen. "He can't get home like that."

"I'll drive him. It's not far but he'll want his car tomorrow." I smiled at Ianto, hoping he was going to respond but he didn't, just continued to regard Owen warily.

"Whhy'd you never shag me?" Owen was pawing at my greatcoat and looking up at me with big, wondering eyes. "You shhag everyone and yet you never shhagged me."

"It's not too late, Owen," I laughed. This was priceless. I just hoped he'd remember it in the morning.

"But you shhagged Shuzie. And you shhagged the teaboy. Whha'ss wrong with me?" I didn't answer, too busy laughing. We had reached Bute Place and I steered him over the crossing. "Have you shhagged Toshhh too? Am I the only one you've not shhagged."

"Not an attractive drunk, is he?" I said to Ianto who was regarding us steadily. Owen was singing again, a bit quieter this time.

"No. You going to be able to manage him?"

"Sure."

"I'll go in then." He strode off to the water tower and the invisible lift. No, he definitely wasn't happy being around me.

"Come on, you," I said to Owen, getting a firm grip on his arm and propelling him to the car park and his car. "Time we got you home."

It took me an hour to get back to his place, a flat with huge picture windows, undress him and pour him into bed. He went out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow and was snoring as I closed the front door behind me. On the ten minute walk back to the Hub, I thought about what he had said. I had never even dreamt of shagging Owen or Toshiko. Well, maybe the odd dream about Toshiko when she'd worn that sexy pencil skirt and tight top to work. But Owen? Never. He had been so broken after Katie's death and developed such a hard shell of cynical indifference to everything and everybody as a result that the thought had not entered my head. My fling with Suzie had been the result of availability and curiosity on both our parts and over quickly. Whereas Ianto … No, best not to think about that. It was obviously over, I was lucky he was still working with me.

The Hub lights were dimmed as I descended on the lift. Not expecting to see anyone, I was halfway across the lower level before I spotted Ianto sitting at Toshiko's desk checking the monitor. "Still up? You must be exhausted." The boy had been up for over twenty four hours.

"Not really, got a second wind. The monitor appears to be clear."

"Let's see." I looked over his shoulder, pleased at the excuse to be so close. "Yep, all quiet in the Western Front." I carried on to the office and hung up my coat. If he wanted to get off to bed, to get away from me, I was determined not to prevent him.

"Want a coffee?"

"Yeah, please. But you need to get some sleep."

"I said, I'm okay." He turned and made for the coffee machine.

I decided it was the lack of sleep and being uncomfortable around me that was making him snap and went to the sofa and settled down with my feet on the coffee table. After all the booze I didn't feel like doing anything else. Ianto came back with two coffees.

"Thanks." I watched him sit at Toshiko's desk again, ignoring the spare seat beside me. We drank in silence for a minute or two. It wasn't a comfortable silence and I couldn't understand why he hadn't gone to bed; he could have taken his coffee with him.

"Who's Katie?"

"Umm?" Ianto's voice had interrupted my thoughts.

"Owen said something about a Katie. I wondered who she was. Did she work here?" He was sipping his drink and staring into the mug.

"No, she didn't. And … it's up to Owen to tell you about her."

"More secrets."

"We all have secrets, Ianto, even you."

He was silent again, sipping from the mug occasionally. I did the same and leant my head against the back of the sofa. I didn't know what more to do. I'd given him space to get his head round my immortality but that didn't seem to be working. Perhaps it wouldn't be possible for Ianto to stay here after all, maybe it would be better if he left. I could give him Retcon, make him forget ever meeting me. But was that what he wanted? I didn't know. He was so reserved, so private, it was impossible to read him. I finished the coffee and put the mug on the table, swinging my legs down at the same time.

"It's getting late. I'm going to turn in." Would he want to come with me? Not on current form. Standing I took a pace in the direction of the office and my quarters.

"What have I done wrong?" I turned to find he was staring at me, his impersonal mask gone.

"You? You've done nothing wrong. What makes you think that?"

"Because … you've changed. Changed with me."

"I don't know what you mean." What was he talking about?

"No, I don't suppose you do." He looked disappointed and got up to leave.

I watched him as he picked up the empty mugs and turned to leave. "Ianto?" He didn't hesitate, he just carried on towards the steps and the kitchen. "Talk to me, Ianto."

He stopped, his back to me with his shoulders slumped, then slowly put the mugs on Toshiko's desk and faced me. His shoulders stiffened and his expression became resolute, as if he had made a decision after a lot of thought. "Owen was right all along, I should have listened to him. I was only a shag to you and now you want it to be over. Well .. well, that's not what I want!"

He came at me and his hands were round the back of my neck bringing our mouths together in a clash of teeth, tongue and lips. His body pressed against mine and I could feel him harden as I did the same. I tried to work out what was happening but frankly I had more pressing things on my mind. His hands were on my back, tugging my shirt loose and trying to find the bare skin underneath. I had his head in my hands, fingers in his hair, holding him close as the kiss continued until we had to break apart for air. He made short work of divesting me of braces, shirt and T-shirt and he was sucking at my nipples and had his hand round my crown jewels before I had a chance to get his jacket off. This was a different Ianto to the boy I had known thus far. The next ten minutes were the closest I have ever come to being raped. Ianto was like a pitbull, coming at me all the time and forcing me to his will. He never let up. His hands were everywhere and his teeth and mouth filled in any gaps. It was bloody marvellous! When he'd finished, we lay naked on the floor side by side, chests heaving. Before I could get my breath back, he was on his feet gathering up his clothes and heading for the steps to the lower level.

"Where do you think you're going?" I was standing too, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry." His back was to me and he spoke softly. I couldn't work out what had happened but assumed we'd sorted things. Didn't having sex mean everything was all right again?

"It's not polite to fuck and then leave without a word." Padding forward soundlessly I snaked my arms round him and rested my chin on his shoulder. He was tense, shivering as the sweat dried in the chill of the Hub. "I don't know what the hell's going on but that was …"

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"What for? That was damned good." I turned him round to face me. "I thought I'd lost you after yesterday." His head shot up and he stared at me. "I guess I was wrong."

"But you were so cold."

"What!? I wasn't! You were the one who wouldn't come near me."

"You ignored me!"

"When?" What was the boy talking about? I had been patiently waiting for him to show some sign, make some move to tell me he had accepted my immortality and now he was accusing me of coldness.

"Last night. You brought the doughnuts and then you left. And you did the same today, down in the archives."

My mind was racing. He'd backed away from me in the archives, I was sure. And in his room he'd withdrawn after accepting the doughnut. Hadn't he? "Only because you didn't want me!"

"I did!"

"You backed off, last night especially. As far as you could."

"I only leant back. And then you left, went off without a word." I stared at him, remembering events so differently from him. "You did, Jack."

"You didn't stop me. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Make some rude comment, like you always do. Touch me. Kiss me. Fuck me! But you didn't." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I know your secret but I promised I wouldn't tell anyone so why are you so cold to me?"

I was speechless for several moments. I had misread him and his reactions so badly. He wasn't rejecting me like everyone else had done, at least that's what I thought he was saying. Could it be true? Could he be the one person in the world who was not revolted by my unique state? Could he truly accept me for what I was? I was silent so long he was turning to go before I realised.

"No, Ianto, no." I grabbed him by the upper arms. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me. You're not freaked out by me not dying?"

"No. I … It's weird, of course it is, but I've seen weirder stuff. And it doesn't change who you are." His face was reflecting his emotions fully for once; he cared. "Why should it?"

"No one's ever just … accepted me … once they knew." I couldn't go on, the lump in my throat was too large. I crushed him to me, burying my head in his shoulder.

It was the cold that impelled us to move. We took our clothes and went down to his room and the big bed where we cuddled together getting warm under the duvet. We didn't speak, we just held one another and he fell asleep quickly. I stroked his head as it rested on my chest and then I too slept. When I woke, I stayed in the bed staring up at the ceiling, a stupid grin on my face. I hadn't lost him. Someone in this world knew I couldn't die and didn't mind. It seemed too good to be true and I wondered if I'd imagined the events of the previous night. I was starting to think of getting up when Ianto woke.

"Morning." He yawned and stretched, rolling onto his back. "What time is it?"

"Sixish. No need to get up yet." I reached for him, pulling him to lie in my arms. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you had to make your own decision." I patted his hair back into place.

"But you want me here, with you?"

"Yeah."

"Not just a part-time shag?"

"Nooo. Although … don't go getting ideas." It was so easy to get carried away by those big, blue eyes. But I wasn't a one-person kind of guy and I didn't want him to get the wrong end of the stick again. "Don't go thinking we're a couple or anything."

"I won't." He smiled briefly and we kissed. "I'm sorry I attacked you like that last night."

"I'm not! You can do that again sometime."

"I don't know what came over me."

"Well find out because I want more where that came from."

"I suppose … I suppose I figured I had nothing to lose," he said, grinning boyishly.

It took us an hour to get ready for work. After a leisurely shag, we showered and dressed before having some cereal and toast. At eight ten my mobile rang and I grinned. I knew who this would be. "Harkness," I said, putting it on speaker.

"_Bastard!!"_ The call ended abruptly.

Ianto had a piece of toast half way to his mouth and a dribble of marmalade dripped off it onto his fingers. "Owen?"

"Uh huh. I set his radio alarm and another clock to go off at eight." I grinned at him. "Made it so the radio wouldn't turn off for an hour."

"That's cruel." I think he was trying to tell me off but his grin spoiled it. He noticed the marmalade and licked his fingers. I think I need another shower, a cold one.

While Ianto tidied up, I went down to the cells. I was on top of the world, hadn't felt this good in a long time, and needed to be up and about. In a hundred and fifty years, someone had learnt I couldn't die and accepted it. It made me feel better about it too but I still wanted to find The Doctor and get fixed. A normal life, that's what I wanted, where I could grow old at the same rate as everyone else. It wasn't right that I looked younger than my own daughter.

The cells were fairly quiet despite the Roman soldiers. They had settled down and other than the occasional insult, they didn't react to my presence. The Weevils were crouched in corners of their separate cells and I wondered, as I stood watching them, if they really could communicate telepathically. I must give Owen some time to continue his study. In the last occupied cell block the Phyte lay dead. We had expected it – it'd been severely traumatised by the Rift – but it was still a shame. I moved it to the morgue and put it in storage until Owen could do the autopsy.

I was sobered by the death and ready to go back upstairs.

* * *

_I am coming to the point where I have to decide whether Suzie dies as in the series. I'm in two minds at present and would welcome your thoughts. Should she live or die? Should Gwen join the team? Not promising to go with the majority, but I'd be interested to know what you think. Thanks - Jay._


	45. Chapter 45

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Five

As I emerged into the main level of the Hub Ianto was by the coffee machine making some more of the wonderful nectar. He was concentrating and had a little frown on his forehead that was just so cute. Most people would fling a mug of coffee together but it's a work of art for him and he takes it so very seriously. Which was good for me as I hated being without his coffee for long.

"Are you lost?" asked Suzie sarcastically. She was standing beside me with her arms folded staring at me staring at Ianto.

"Just thinking. Have a good afternoon yesterday?"

"Not bad. Caught up on some sleep which helped. Thanks for making me go."

I smiled at her. "My pleasure. We fixed up the cage for Myfanwy, good catch design."

"It's quite a simple one really. Ianto said it worked okay."

"Yeah. Only had to adjust it slightly so she couldn't get her head caught." Ianto came up to us bearing mugs of coffee. "Thanks." I wrapped my hands round the mug, welcoming the warmth of the liquid inside.

"I was thinking, sir. Would the recall signal work if Myfanwy was outside?" asked Ianto. "She never gets a chance to really stretch her wings." Ianto was stood with his hands in his pockets; he makes a lot of coffee for us but doesn't always have any himself. "I'd like to let her out occasionally."

"I don't know about that. The signal would work but don't you think someone would notice?"

"Could do it at night," suggested Suzie. "Not many people about after dark, not sober ones anyway."

"I'd like to try it, sir." He was obviously keen on the idea and at that moment I found it hard to deny him anything.

"Let's think about it later," I temporised and changed the subject. "The Phyte died in the night. I've put it in the morgue until Owen can get on with the autopsy." I grinned at the thought of Owen; he had been an absolute idiot the night before. "Something orange and gooey to dissect will be just what he needs when he finally shows up." Ianto sniggered.

"Has he been up to something?" Suzie asked, eyes narrowed and looking at us closely. "Come on, spill."

We told her of his drunken revelations about shagging me and she went into delighted giggles. It was good to see her back in a good mood although … was there something forced about it? Nah, I was making too much out of lack of sleep and a hectic few days. We all had times like that and I was sure she'd get over it. As we stood there an idea popped into my head and I shared it with the others. Their wholehearted support was all I needed to put the plan into action. Poor Owen.

As the plan required everything to appear normal, we got on with our usual duties. Suzie continued checking the Rift predictor and alerts while Ianto went off to the Tourist Office. I settled at my desk and started on the emails and phone calls that are my daily lot. The first call was a pleasant one.

"Hey, Tosh, how's it going?" She had sent me a text the evening before to confirm she had arrived in Glasgow safely.

"_Good, thanks. The parts are all here and it's not as big a job as I expected. Should be finished by late afternoon." _

"That's good, but don't push yourself unnecessarily. The Rift's quiet so if you need to stay overnight again, it's okay by me."

"_I'll see, but I really think I'll be done."_ I doubted she would stay over, she's far too conscientious for her own good. _"Everything okay there?" _

"Absolutely fine. No alarms and nothing predicted for the next twenty four hours. Seems it's settling down for a while."

"_Don't, Jack. You know what happens when you say things like that." _I did, all hell breaks loose!

"After what we've had to deal with -"

"_Stop it, Jack, really. Gotta go or I won't get this done at all." _

"Okay, let me know what you decide about staying over."

"_Will do. Bye." _

It was strange how superstitious Toshiko and the others can be. Whatever I said was not going to change the course of events over the next few hours or days so what did it matter? Thinking back, a lot of past Torchwood employees had been as bad if not worse. Harriet Derbyshire was one of the worst, she had so many routines and amulets and what have you to ward off the evil eye it was surprising she got any work done. And they didn't do her any good in the end; she died during the Efgartix attack of 1919.

With an effort, I got back to the calls and emails and was getting on quite well when Owen stomped into the Hub. It was ten thirty and he looked … angry. Perhaps he was a bit paler that normal too but he was too far away for me to be sure. I continued with my work but kept an eye on the work area where Suzie was using Toshiko's desk. She and Owen exchanged a few words – I couldn't hear precisely what was said – and then he headed my way.

"What was the bleeding idea with the alarm clock?" he demanded from the doorway. "Flipping thing wouldn't stop, I had to throw it at the wall in the end."

"Just trying to be helpful." I gave him my best grin and a knowing wink then turned back to my call. "I'm sorry, General, where were we?" He scowled at me and turned on his heel, disappearing into the medical bay.

It was half an hour later that Ianto came down with boxes of stationery and other stores – there must have been a delivery. He piled them up and started to sort them out. We keep a small stock of the most used items to hand but most of it is held downstairs in one of the less damp rooms. With calm efficiency, Ianto sorted out what he wanted where until he was interrupted by a shout from Owen who was standing by his desk.

"Oy, Teaboy, how about some coffee?" he demanded rudely. So much for a joint project helping to forge some kind of respect between them.

I was in the office doorway watching, a few papers in my hand. Ianto turned slowly and fixed Owen with a gaze that would have pierced steel. "IF you are talking to me, kindly use my name. And you're not getting any coffee from me." He turned back to his work.

"What!? Why not? What's going on?" Owen looked round at Suzie and me seeking help but we just shrugged. I winked again which made Owen do a double take.

"You know why, Owen Harper!" stormed Ianto, facing us again. He was really getting into the role. "After what you did last night!?"

"Wh-what?" he stuttered. "Just 'cos I got rat-arsed I don't get coffee?"

"It's what you did after that, as you well know." Ianto turned round and went back to his boxes. Time I stepped in.

"Sorry, Owen, he found out. Well, you know me, can't keep things to myself." I stood beside him and placed a hand on his arse.

"What the fuck d'you think you're doing!?" Owen backed away from me fast.

"Oh come on, don't act shy with me. Not after last night." I lowered my voice to a sexy bass.

"What!!?" His voice had gone up an octave or two.

"Ah, so you two finally got it together," put in Suzie. "Surprised it took you so long, Owen, given your penchant for uniforms."

"He did make me keep my greatcoat on," I said conversationally.

"I did not shag you!!" shouted Owen, getting red in the face.

I looked at him in astonishment. "Are you telling me you don't remember?" He glared back. "Never thought anyone would forget a shag with me."

"I certainly won't," said Suzie with a smile.

"Humph," came from Ianto who went off towards the lower levels with a couple of boxes.

"He's a bit upset," I told Owen, confidentially. "Personally you did me a good turn, he was starting to get clingy. And you are a great lay." I lowered my voice again and leered while making a grab for him but he backed off some more.

"We didn't! I don't believe you!" he shouted, sounding like he was trying very hard to convince himself.

"Oh yes you did!" came from Ianto just before he disappeared from view through the archway.

Owen stood there for several minutes, immobile and devastated. His face was screwed up as he searched his drunken memory for some hint of what he and I might have done together. As I watched, I could see the thoughts and emotions – disgust and perhaps regret at not remembering – pass across his, for once, expressive features.

"Fuck!" he said finally and turned on his heel back to the medical bay, his haven in times of distress.

"Anytime, Owen, anytime," I called after him only to receive a one finger salute.

Suzie was grinning like a maniac and I had to look away before I burst into laughter and gave the game away. I headed off after Ianto and was still grinning when I found him in the storeroom.

"He fell for that. Great performance, Ianto." I wrapped my arms round him from behind and kissed his neck.

"Getting clingy, am I?" He turned his head to look at me.

"I had to say something, you know that. It's what we agreed." I put my mouth to his ear. "And you can cling to me anytime," I whispered. He smiled then and I nibbled his ear before releasing him and moving away.

"Did you want me for something?" he asked, continuing to stack plastic folders.

"No, had to get away or I'd have laughed and given the game away. This is looking very tidy." It was. The room contained serried ranks of boxes and packages of all shapes and sizes neatly labelled in Ianto's clear handwriting.

"That's because I don't let anyone in here. Honestly, I don't know what you all do with the cupboard upstairs."

"But if we never made a mess you wouldn't have anything to clear up."

"And wouldn't that be a shame!" He straightened up after putting the last box away. "How long are you intending to keep up this charade with Owen?"

"I don't know. Long as we can?" He didn't look impressed. No matter what Owen does or says to him, Ianto is so good-natured he still doesn't want him to suffer. "Okay, 'til lunch?"

"All right. What do you fancy to eat?"

"You. On toast." I grinned and was rewarded with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, I'll decide."

He ushered me out of the storeroom and we walked back up the main level. I hung back a bit as we neared it, didn't want Owen to catch the two of us coming back together. Ianto walked through and up to the Tourist Office without stopping. I slipped up the back way to the office. Noises from the medical bay were clearly Owen in a temper, this was working so well.

For the rest of the morning, I stayed at my desk catching up on paperwork. There was a further disappearance in the Brecon Beacons. Rosemary Plowright had been on holiday with friends in the area and had not returned after visiting the book shops at Hay-on-Wye. Her car had been found abandoned at the side of the road in the same manner as the other three disappearances. No body, no clues. Rosemary's personal possessions had been left in the car including the dozen second-hand books she'd bought in Hay. I printed out the details and added them to the folder I was keeping and added a note to check for any sign of alien activity in the area.

At one o'clock, Ianto appeared with a box full of lunch. It was Chinese and Suzie took it up to the Boardroom while he went off to make drinks. I looked into the medical bay where Owen was busily engaged in an autopsy of the Phyte. Orange 'blood' and guts were strewn around the examination table and the floor and some organs were in jars and dishes.

"Lunch is here, Owen."

"Not hungry," he muttered without looking up. I could see a tell-tale red tinge to the back of his neck above his white lab coat.

"Don't be ridiculous. What happened, happened. Get over it." As I left the bay I heard him groan softly.

Lunch was an … interesting meal. The food was as good as always but the four of us were on edge, for different reasons. Ianto was acting sulky and miserable at my 'betrayal' and Suzie was stirring up Owen while trying not to laugh. I was enjoying myself hugely, loving to see Owen cringe and keep his head down, shovelling food into his mouth and not looking at the rest of us. He had chosen a seat as far away from me as possible. We had almost finished the food when Ianto took pity on Owen.

"Don't you think this has gone on long enough?" he said, looking at me while wiping his mouth delicately with the paper napkin he'd tucked into his collar. "It's not even very funny now."

"He has a point, Jack," put in Suzie. She reached for the last of the sweet and sour pork and forked it onto her plate.

I sighed. "All right."

"What's going on?" demanded Owen looking round at us.

"You didn't have the pleasure of my company last night," I told him. "I put you bed and left it at that, despite your earlier interest."

"You … you didn't? We didn't? Then all the winking, all this with Ianto, it's been a joke?"

"That's right," grinned Suzie.

"Thank the Lord!" Owen looked so relieved I was affronted. He grinned round at us, relieved enough to forgive us. "Very funny!"

The atmosphere relaxed after that and we had a chat about work. I told them about Mace's email; no sign of the Cyberman in Switzerland. Owen was almost finished with the autopsy and planned to continue with his Weevil study later. UNIT were arriving to collect the Roman legionaries in the afternoon and Suzie and Ianto would oversee the transfer. If the Rift stayed quiet, we could all have a quiet night.

The afternoon was not as peaceful as I had hoped. Around three, a Weevil was reported around the site of the proposed Sports Village. As Suzie and Ianto were busy with the transfer, Owen and I dealt with it. There are lots of plans for the Village but nothing much has materialised yet, except the usual residential developments; just how many flats does Cardiff need!? A full sized swimming pool would be good but it's the casino I really hope comes off – I've had some good times in Monte Carlo.

"They said it was over here," said Owen, pointing to the left behind a half-completed block of flats.

I parked and we walked over. There was no sign of the informant, one of the residents apparently, and the police had yet to show up. We walked forward slowly, a metre of so apart, searching the corners and alleyways for signs of movement. Owen heard it first and signalled to his left. Rounding a corner, we saw the Weevil – a large male – snacking on something, hopefully a dog or cat and not the missing informant, less paperwork. We continued moving towards the Weevil and got within striking range. I ran in and sprayed it, swerving to avoid the claws swung in my direction when it sensed my approach. Owen came in from behind and jammed the hood down over its head and cuffed it.

"Good timing," I said, puffing a bit from the exercise. "Want me to spray it again?"

"Yeah, just a whiff. It's a big one and we want it to stay out for the drive back." After another bit of the spray, the Weevil was completely unconscious and we heaved it into the back of the SUV. Owen had gone back to look at the Weevil's snack. "Dog," he said, moving the remaining bits of flesh around with stick he'd found lying around. "Someone's pet by the looks of it." He held up the stick and hanging it from it was a collar with a name tag.

"No clean up then. Let's get out of here."

We were heading back up Cogan Spur when we saw a police car headed the other way; it had taken them long enough to respond to the call. Owen sighed and looked over at me from his place wedged against the door.

"I'm only going ask this once and I'd appreciate a straight answer."

I glanced at him. "Okay."

"Why haven't you ever tried it on with me?"

"Didn't think you wanted me to." I kept my eyes on the road, afraid I'd spoil the seriousness of the moment otherwise. "I never go where I'm not invited."

"Good, 'cos I'm never going invite you."

"Okay by me. Got my hands full with Ianto." I turned to look at him then and grinned.

He managed a smile too. "All that stuff this morning, about him being clingy, was that part of the joke?"

"Yeah. We understand one another."

He was silent until we exited the Bute Tunnel then said, "Just be careful he doesn't get too close. He's still not right."

"I know."

We completed the journey in companionable silence.

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_As this it the last chapter before the 25th, I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas. Eat, drink and be merry! The next chapter should be up before the New Year - Jay_


	46. Chapter 46

_Hope you all had a great Christmas. My little straw poll was interesting; the vote was split evenly between people wanting Suzie to stick around, wanting Gwen to join the team and for them both to be in the team. I think I know where I'm heading with the story now so the next few chapters should resolve the issue. Thanks for your input. And many thanks for the reviews, I can't believe it's almost 400! - Jay_

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**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Six

With the Weevil settled in the cells, which were pleasantly empty once more now the legionaries had departed, it stayed quiet for the rest of the evening. Suzie and Owen left around seven. I had heard from Toshiko that, contrary to my expectations, she was staying in Glasgow and setting out early Saturday morning. I was pleased, I didn't like the idea of her driving through the night; she would still be in Cardiff by lunchtime. Left to our own devices, Ianto and I went out to Harry Ramsdens' and had fish and chips for supper.

"You should take a day off," told him, sipping on my beer. "How about tomorrow?"

"I'm okay." He kept his head down which was a sure sign he was troubled.

"Do I have to make it an order?" I smiled but I meant it. He had been working long hours and rarely got out of the Hub. Owen's reminder had made me look up the symptoms of PTSD again and working all hours and avoiding contact with family and friends were among them.

With a deep sigh he met my gaze and smiled briefly. "No. I suppose I could take a few hours tomorrow."

"All day, Ianto."

He nodded and ate another forkful of the battered cod. "I thought I might see the agents and give up the flat. I never use it and it's silly paying rent on it. If it's okay to live in the Hub."

"Of course it is, I like having you around." I ate a chip slowly then broached the subject I really wanted to talk about. "Going to see your sister?"

"Maybe. But I'm not going to say anything, about me." He had neatly put his knife and fork together having eaten as much as he wanted, which wasn't enough in my opinion. "I was only going to … because of … us but, well, I don't think I want to now."

"I don't understand. And finish your chips." I nodded to the plate and kept my tone non-judgemental. Ultimately the decision about coming out to his family was his but I had hoped he would want to if only so I could meet them.

"I've had enough." He looked round. "Can we discuss this later, when we're alone?"

"Okay, on condition you eat at least another six chips." I grinned at him.

"But that won't leave any for you to finish off." He smiled as he speared a chip and ate it.

It was on the walk back to the Hub, past the restaurants and bars of Mermaid Quay with their noisy patrons, that he opened up. We stopped at the railing of the raised level and looked out over the still water. It was a clear night, dry for once, and it was pleasant to stand and watch the waves lapping against the moored boats and hear the cries of the gulls as they went after their own fish supper.

"There's a lot I have to think about, Jack, before I talk to Rhiannon. I can accept that you can't die and it doesn't change how I feel about you but … it does raise lots of questions. I'm still trying to sort things out, in my head, and I'll be needing answers before I tell anyone else about you."

"I'll be as honest as I can, all you have to do is ask. But," I went on, before he could reply, "telling Rhiannon you're bi-sexual has nothing to do with me. That's who you are."

"Maybe, but it's because of you that it's an issue." He half turned to look at me. "I'm not ashamed, just … Well, I have enough confusion in my life right now, I don't need any more."

"It's your call."

We stood in silence for another five minutes before moving off and walking slowly to the Tourist Office. He didn't ask his questions, still trying to formulate them, obviously. I wondered what they would be, remembering those other people have asked in the past. _How old are you? Have you tried electrocution, dismemberment, starvation, etc? How do you hide it? _All seemingly innocent questions that should be simple to answer and yet they raise other issues, more difficult ones about my origins and the relationships - families - I have had along the way. Did I want to tell Ianto about Alice and Steven? How would he react? It was a minefield and while I would try to answer his queries I could not afford to tell him all the truth.

In the Hub, he went off to make some coffee and I checked the Rift predictor and alerts. It was still quiet and I was relieved; it had been a very busy week. When Ianto and the coffee arrived, we sat on the sofa, side by side, and watched TV for a while. It was a murder mystery that neither of us had seen and we chucked around ideas about who had 'done it'; he was right.

"How did you know it was her?"

"Chose the least likely one, it usually works." He grinned. "Want to watch any more?"

"Nah. I have other things I'd rather do." I moved my hand, which was resting on his thigh, towards his crotch. "You, for instance."

"Come on then, bed." He stood and pulled me up with him. "Mine tonight, I want to be comfortable."

We were walking past Suzie's desk when I remembered something and pulled him to a halt. "How about taking this with us?" I asked, waggling my eyebrows, and gesturing to the welding gear. "You looked so sexy yesterday."

"What!?"

"The way you raised the mask … ooh." I shivered and pulled him close.

"You are seriously weird." He pulled away and started walking again. "You coming or not?"

I trotted to catch him up with just a backward glance at the gear. "Please, Ianto?"

"No!"

We didn't need the welding gear to have a good night. Some simple sex, a chat about nothing in particular and forty winks was the normality we both needed. I was dozing when I got a clout in my midsection and my half-formed dreams shattered. Ianto's cry told me he was having another nightmare and I grabbed his flailing arms and after a tussle managed to pull him close, murmuring in his ear. With him in the bed, it was a good thing I couldn't bruise! He woke suddenly and started to struggle.

"It's okay, Ianto, you're safe." He relaxed and I felt the tension leaving his body.

"Sorry," he muttered into my chest.

"It's okay. We all get them. Want to talk about it?" I didn't think he was going to reply then he sighed and pulled a little away from me, speaking quietly.

"It was the Battle. The Cybermen were everywhere. I could see them, hear them, smell them." He was shaking again and I pulled him firmly into my arms as he told me more. "I was so frightened," he concluded.

"Of course you were. I would be too. But they're not here, you're safe with me. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you. Okay?"

"Okay." I'm not sure he was totally convinced but he relaxed into my embrace. After a few minutes he said, "These nightmares, how long will they go on?"

"I don't know. Maybe …. maybe you should talk to someone about them, about how you're feeling." I could feel him tense up again. "Getting some counselling is just like going to a doctor with a broken bone. That's all," I soothed.

"Can't I talk to you?"

"Sure you can. But I'm not a professional, I may not give you the right advice. How about Owen, he -"

"No! Not Owen." He took a deep breath and twisted his head to gaze up at me. He looked very young again but also anxious; the dream must have upset him more than most. "You know what Owen's like."

"He's a professional and I was only going to suggest getting his advice about a counsellor, nothing more." I stayed silent for a while, letting him mull over the options. I could have ordered him to see a counsellor but I'd seen that tried so many times and it never worked. The individual had to want it for it to have any chance of success. "How about I speak to Owen, see what he thinks?"

There was another long pause. "All right, but don't tell him any more than you have to."

"I'll do my best, but he is your doctor. For now though, get some more sleep, you need it." Within fifteen minutes he was asleep again. I held him for the next hour until I was sure he was not going to have another nightmare, then slipped from the bed.

After a hot shower and dressed in clean clothes, I started on the paperwork on my desk. Suzie had returned the report on the Caerlon legionaries with all the gaps filled in. There were the outstanding autopsies on the dead Romans but otherwise there was nothing much more to include. I stuck a note on the front and put it to one side to remind Owen. His report on the Phyte's autopsy was next in the pile. We had seen the creatures before and his investigation added nothing to what we already knew. That went into the pile for filing. Continuing in this way, I got through my in-tray quickly and at around five o'clock I made myself a cup of tea and drank it while poking through everyone's desk.

It was some time since I'd had the opportunity and I took my time to check what the others were up to. Ianto's desk was neat and tidy with just a small pile of filing waiting his attention. He had a folder full of copies of orders for supplies and I was pleased he was keeping an eye on our needs. Suzie's desk was less tidy and contained the usual eclectic mix of papers and artefacts. I was surprised to find a fat book of Emily Dickinson's poetry half hidden under some reports; hadn't known she liked that at all. The tip that masqueraded as Owen's desk did not invite close inspection; I used my fingertips and touched as little as possible as I looked through his papers and found nothing unexpected. There was nothing on Toshiko's desk to pique my interest either, although as we all used it when she wasn't around she couldn't keep anything secret. I finished my drink while sitting looking at her family photos, the only one of us to have any on show in the Hub. Owen's mother had chucked him out when he was still a teenager, he'd told me that once when he was drunk; Suzie never spoke about her family, I think her parents are dead; and Ianto kept his sister and mother at a distance. We're a sad lot. It did remind me about getting a picture from Alice of her and Steven, not that I'd put it on my desk. What a lot of questions that would raise!

Just before seven I was pleased to see Ianto appear in jeans and a polo shirt. That was his off-duty garb so he was going to take the day off without me nagging him. "Breakfast?" he asked, standing in the office doorway. He looked rested.

"Please."

He smiled and walked off, none the worse for his nightmare. At least, I don't think he was. It's so hard to know about these things and I wanted that chat with Owen as soon as possible. He'd be irritated that I'd not told him of the earlier nightmares but at least he'd be able to say what the best course of action would be, whether a counsellor was a sensible solution.

Suzie arrived shortly after nine and went straight to her desk and started on the usual morning checks. She looked distracted so I left her to it. Toshiko called in to say she was on her way and expected to be in the Hub by midday; the traffic was light. She reported that all had gone well with Archie which was good news, maybe he'll stop bothering us about IT support now. Despite being off duty, Ianto pottered about the kitchen tidying up and reorganising the fridge. When I remonstrated with him, he just said it was what he would have done before on a day off so I left him to it. I couldn't complain too much as I wanted him to leave us some thermoses full of his lovely coffee for the rest of the day. Owen came in at nine forty but I couldn't nab him with Ianto still around so waited until he went out around ten.

"Owen, a word." I walked into the office and he followed.

"What's up?" asked Owen, sitting down and making himself comfortable.

"Ianto had a nightmare last night, a flashback to Canary Wharf. He was really scared this time. I think he needs professional help and suggested a counsellor. He's not convinced, says he'd rather talk to me, but I think he needs more than that. What do you think?" To give him credit, Owen took the request seriously.

"Was this the first one?"

"No."

"And you were going to tell me about them when?" He sighed heavily. "Honestly, what's the point of having me around if no one consults me!"

"You don't exactly make it easy, Owen. You need to work on your bedside manner." I sat back in the chair, steepling my fingers before me.

"Maybe," he conceded. "Tell me exactly what happened."

I told him how I had been woken up and the details of the nightmare as related to me by Ianto. We then went into the other occasions when he'd had similar bad dreams all of which took a while. Part-way through Suzie popped her head round the door to tell us she was going out to follow up a lead on an artefact leaving the two of us to continue.

"I let him talk about it, tried to pull out details and reassure him, but I don't know if it's helping," I finished.

"I don't think he'd want to carry on with you if it wasn't. But I can't say for sure without talking to him."

"He doesn't want that. You two don't have a great relationship." That was the understatement of the decade!

He sat back and looked at a point a couple of feet above my head. "I may make fun of him, Jack, but I respect what he does here, what he brings to the team. It works better since he's been around." He lowered his gaze to meet mine.

"Pity you never tell him that. Anyway, what do you think – counsellor or not?"

"I think he should, even if it's only a couple of sessions; we need a professional opinion. Strachan would be the obvious choice."

"I agree." Duncan Strachan had been loosely affiliated with Torchwood and UNIT for years and understood the pressures of the work. At fifty three, he was respected within his profession and I felt his gentle style would suit Ianto. He had also counselled some other Canary Wharf survivors. "Have a word with him for me, see if he'd been willing to meet Ianto."

"Will do. I'll say it's just an assessment for now so we can see how the pair of them get on." Owen stood up, ready to leave. "Soon as poss?"

"It's not urgent, but next week would be good. Of course, I still have to persuade Ianto." I pulled a face, that wouldn't be easy.

"I'll leave that to you! Anything else?"

"No. I left the file about legionaries on your desk, we need to get on with the autopsies then we can close it."

"I was going to do a bit with the Weevils this morning. I want to try them with the Summish psionic scanner. Can I leave the autopsies 'til this afternoon?"

"All right, just make sure they're started today."

He went off and I saw him get on the phone presumably to Strachan. I spent a few minutes musing over ways to tackle Ianto then gave it up; I'd have to play it by ear when we knew Strachan was on side. By now, I was sick of sitting in the office so went off to the armoury. It contains a good selection of our weaponry but not all by any means. Everything was in its place and there was a faint aroma of gun oil; someone had been in here cleaning. The clipboard on the side showed the schedule of weapons training and I saw Owen was overdue for some practice. We all spent an hour once a month using a range of weapons to maintain our skill levels, essential if we were to protect ourselves and civilians.

"Duncan can see Ianto on Tuesday morning," said Owen from the door. "He suggested neutral territory for a first meeting."

"Good." I held up the clipboard. "Your refresher's overdue."

"God, is it that long already!?"

"It is. Make sure you find time in the next couple of days."

"Okay. I'll be down with the Weevils."

"Have fun."

"Huh, at least they don't shout insults at me!" The legionaries' comments still rankled.

He strode off and I replaced the clipboard and wandered out. As I walked past Suzie's desk I noticed the Glove on the side and paused for a moment – that hadn't been there when I'd looked earlier. She must have locked it away, I decided and continued to my desk.


	47. Chapter 47

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Seven

The Hub remained quiet for the next few hours. Owen was down with the Weevils and when Suzie returned around twelve – with a cache of Pronskite credits found on a building site – she settled at her desk with her head down and didn't look like she wanted to be disturbed. Toshiko breezed in at half past twelve, briefcase in one hand and a large carrier bag in the other. I was delighted to see her; I had nothing to do and was mightily bored without Ianto to pester.

"Hey, Tosh, good journey?" I had wandered out of the office and was ready for a chat.

"Yeah, just a bit of a problem round Manchester. Roadworks." She deposited the briefcase on her desk and the carrier bag on her chair. "Phew, that's better."

"Anything else to bring in? I'll get it if you like."

"There's a box of tools and spare parts, if you don't mind?" She looked over and smiled, holding out the car keys.

"My pleasure. Parked in the usual place?"

"Uh huh. Thanks."

I trotted off through the garage door, pleased to have something to do that did not involve sitting at a desk. The underground car park that served the National Assembly building above had encroached on some of Torchwood's land when it was built so I'd made a deal with the authorities; they could have the space if we could have secure parking. Our section is only accessible by swipe card and code number and is blocked off so others using the car park can't see in. The SUV and our large van are always down there and the team's personal cars usually are, although I noted that Suzie's was missing. She must have parked it topside when she got back, it's easier sometimes if there aren't too many visitors to the Bay. Toshiko's VW Polo was next to Owen's Boxster, so typical of them both; hers discreet and practical, his a status symbol. With the large and awkward box in my arms, I returned to the Hub and put it on the coffee table before joining Toshiko and Suzie by the former's desk.

"Your keys." I handed them over. "So, successful visit?"

"Yes. The new server is installed and will be more robust, especially with the additional safeguards I've put in. I was telling Suzie, Archie's got a girlfriend." Toshiko grinned at what must have been my stunned expression.

"That's what I thought!" laughed Suzie. "I never thought he was interested."

"Nor me." In all the years I had known Archie – at least twenty – there had been no hint of girl or boyfriends. "Are you sure you didn't get the wrong end of the stick?" I demanded of Toshiko.

"Got a picture of her on his desk. And he called her three times yesterday. Her name's Morag."

"And what's she like?" I leant against Owen's desk, ready for a natter. "I want all the details."

"Um, dark-haired. In her forties, I suppose." Toshiko is not the best informant about these things, she's far too well brought up to be a good gossip. "I really should get on. How about I tell you over lunch."

"Shall I order in?" volunteered Suzie.

"Where's Ianto?" Toshiko looked from Suzie to me and back again, concerned. It was good to see that at least one of the team – other than me - cared about him. "Is he okay?"

"Taking the day off. But I got him to leave some coffee," I replied, easing myself from the desk.

"So, pizza? Indian?" asked Suzie. She had her mobile in hand ready to phone in the order; all the nearby suppliers were on speed dial.

After a vote Suzie got onto Jubilee Pizza, the joint round the corner that did a decent selection and was cheap. I helped Toshiko unpack her box and the carrier bag. I was more interested in the latter as it contained goodies! She had found time for a quick trip to the shops and bought us a selection of shortbread and some Edinburgh rock. I love that stuff, so soft and chalky and sweet, I was salivating as I looked at it. Suzie insisted the shortbread went into the kitchen which meant we'd never see it again; I know for a fact that Ianto buys biscuits but damned if I can find them! I didn't allow the rock to go the same way. We each had a little box of six coloured sticks and I took mine to my office and put it in a drawer before anyone could suggest otherwise. Okay, five of the sticks went into the drawer, I had the other one in my mouth.

Owen returned as the pizza arrived and we ate it in the work area, gathered round the sofa. Toshiko poured us all coffee from a thermos and we heard more about her trip. Seems Archie had been on his best behaviour for once and left her to get on with the job. Not content with the information she could provide about the mysterious Morag, Suzie used Owen's PC to check the databases and we found her easily. Morag Margaret McDonald was a motherly sort of woman, round faced and smiling broadly even for a driving licence photo. She was forty one, a genealogist, divorced with no children and living on the outskirts of Glasgow. She looked nice and I hoped she and Archie would make a go of it.

I'd almost finished my pizza when my mobile rang. "Harkness."

"_Mace here. I've had another report from the UNIT section in Switzerland. Still no sign of our quarry."_ I had to bring my mind back to work and in particular our hunt for Henry Parker's Cyberman.

"Damn. I was sure that where it was headed." I was back in the office now, reaching for the folder on my desk.

"_Me too."_ He sighed. _"So far, the commander over there has kept Tanizaki's clinic under observation, as we agreed, but he'd like to go in. It might have arrived some other way. According to my calculations, if they were moving the Cyberman it would be there by now." _

"I agree. Yeah, give them the go-ahead to raid the place. They know what they're looking for?"

"_Oh yes. They had problems enough after the incident with the ghosts."_ Not Torchwood's finest hour and I was grateful when Mace did not point it out. _"I'll let you know what transpires." _

"Thanks. Any news on the Cyber-equipment?" I had sent my 'request' in and had hoped to hear something by now.

Mace laughed. _"Don't worry, General Wade huffed and puffed but he's agreed it comes back to you. I can get a detachment to bring it to Cardiff tomorrow, if that's acceptable?" _

"That would be fine. Thanks, Alan, I know that must have taken a bit of persuasion." Flattering the guy cost me nothing but would help get his co-operation on future occasions. "Give me a call when they set out and I'll arrange the handover."

"_Will do." _

After a few pleasantries he rang off and I made a note of the call in the folder. I also put a note in my calendar for the following day so I wouldn't forget about it. Unlikely but even the best of us can overlook stuff if the Rift starts playing up. The mobile bleeped with an incoming text message; it was from Ianto. He'd given notice on his flat and was having lunch with a friend so wouldn't be back until later. I hoped it wasn't the attractive woman he'd met when I'd been with him, or any other attractive woman - or man - come to that. But at the same time I was pleased he was having an ordinary day doing ordinary things. I texted him back with some suitably jokey comment and was feeling pleased with myself.

"Jack, there's been another murder." It was Suzie, standing in the doorway and looking more animated than she had for a while. "If we're quick we can use the Glove."

"Okay. Where is it?" I reached for my Webley and threaded the holster through my belt.

"Robin Tree Alley."

She was on the move as the words left her mouth, hastening to her desk and the waiting Glove. I snagged my greatcoat and went out into the work area, pleased to see Owen and Toshiko already preparing to leave.

"Another bloody waste of time," muttered Owen, hefting the box of medical equipment that would be entirely superfluous to requirements but it made him happy to bring it.

"Stop grouching," retorted Toshiko which surprised me almost as much as it surprised him. It was very unlike her to snap, especially at Owen. Maybe twenty four hours away had given her a bit more perspective on our unfriendly doctor.

"Ready?" asked Suzie, coming over to join us, the large box containing the Glove in her hand.

"As we'll ever be," said Owen.

"Let's go."

In the SUV we argued a bit about who should have the 'honour' of talking to the corpse, one Rani Ghosh. She was a housewife of forty five, married with three grown up children and living with them, her husband and elderly mother on the Cromwell Estate. According to the police reports Toshiko read out, Rani had been on a shopping trip to the city when she'd taken a shortcut through the alley to the bus station. The decision about who would talk to her was settled by the toss of coin, a series of tosses actually, which left Toshiko the 'winner'.

There was a scrum of police cars and supporting technical vans at the entrance to the alley and I drew up as close as I could and not get boxed in. Suzie had sent word ahead that we were coming and we got the usual dirty looks as we walked under the crime scene tape past the withdrawing police officers and forensics guys in their funny white suits. The four of us just kept going, looking neither right nor left though I did catch the eye of a young policewoman, dark haired and with an intense gaze. She must have liked what she saw as she didn't drop her gaze, just met mine steadily. Might be worth pursuing.

"Jeez, what a dump. Why can't people get murdered in clean places?" grouched Owen.

I could see what he meant. The alley ran behind shops and looked as if it was rarely cleaned. Rubbish of all kinds – waste food, packaging and strange metal shapes that had once been something useful - had been dropped or blown out of the overflowing bins onto the wet and grimy ground. The place smelt horrid, and that was before we reached the body. Halfway up, a skip with builder's rubbish told of a refit going on in one of the nearby shops. This was where the corpse lay, half propped against the skip in a shadowed corner. Blood coated her chest and stomach; she had been stabbed repeatedly by what looked like a large blade.

"She was found an hour ago," said Toshiko, using her PDA to scan the area. No idea what she expected to find, this was nothing to do with aliens. "They estimate she's been dead around three hours, so killed around eleven."

"Okay. Suzie, after you." I indicated she should take up her position which as usual was behind the victim. I helped ease the body away so Suzie could get behind it.

We stood around as Suzie got the Glove out and put it on her hand. As I watched, I remembered the sensation I had got when trying it and shivered; it had not been pleasant. I looked around to make sure everyone was well back and again met the gaze of that policewoman who was watching us intently but from a safe distance.

"I have it," said Suzie, "I have access." She placed the Glove, now with its little blue lights showing, under the woman's head and concentrated.

"Tosh," I prompted. She was reluctant to take up position but finally knelt down on a dry piece of cardboard beside the body. The woman's eyes opened and stared round, disorientated and scared.

"Rani, listen to me. It's important you listen, okay?" began Toshiko, using just the right tone of voice; firm and brooking no-nonsense.

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. You're dead," continued Toshiko. Not the best line perhaps but no worse than any others we'd tried. "You were stabbed."

"But I'm not dead. I can see you."

"We've brought you back but we don't have long. I'm sorry, but you've got to concentrate. Who did this to you? What did you see?"

"What? How am I dead?" This was going as badly as the other three. How could we expect to get anything sensible from people who had been brought back from the dead? I knew how hard it was to concentrate in the first few moments after resurrection and I'd had plenty of practice – way too much.

Toshiko ignored the woman's questions. "Who attacked you?"

"Sixty seconds," put in Suzie who was watching the time. We had two minutes at best, one minute left.

"I don't want to be dead." I'd not expected a corpse to cry but this one looked as if she was going to. "What about Ranjit and Sami and the girls?"

"You've got to think," persisted Toshiko. "Just focus on me. What was the last thing you saw?"

"Um, a woman. Asian. Helped with my bags. Then … pain. Did she do it?"

Toshiko looked round at me, flummoxed. I was as surprised as she was, not expecting to get a description of the attacker. We had thought this might be a line to take when questioning the recently murdered but weren't interested in the answers; finding the killer was not our concern. I knelt beside Toshiko, looking into the woman's face.

"Probably. Did you know her?"

"No. A stranger killed me? Why!?" The pain in her voice was hard to hear. "It's not fair!"

"I know, Rani, I know. Tell me, what was it like when you died? What did you see?" I had so longed to ask this question of someone and this was my opportunity.

"Thirty seconds." This came from Suzie, a reminder that time was running out.

"Rani, what did you see?"

"Nothing. I saw nothing." The woman's eyes closed and her head tilted to one side even as Suzie cradled it in the Glove.

"She's gone." Suzie gently laid the woman's head down and removed the Glove. She looked drained and I wondered just what using the Glove really took out of her. "Almost two minutes, that was good."

"Good!? I said it was stupid telling her she was dead." Owen was full of righteous indignation but in truth he knew no better than us what to say or do.

"Well you do it," retorted Toshiko, standing up. "Didn't see you rushing to volunteer."

"I've had my turn."

"Stop it, both of you," I told them, irritated for some reason. "Maybe there's no right way of doing this."

"Right, so we should stop doing it."

With those words Owen stomped off back to the SUV. Suzie and Toshiko followed him while I remained for a moment with the body of Rani Ghosh, a woman who didn't deserve to die. Or be brought back by us? That was a novel thought, one that unsettled me even more. Turning I was face to face with the policewoman.

"What did you do?" she demanded, her big dark eyes trained on mine.

"I beg your pardon?" She was staring at me, demanding answers. No one on Cardiff's police force had done that in a very long time; they had learnt to give Torchwood a wide berth.

"I said, what did you do?" She had her hands on her hips. "Did you find anything that can help us? She's not the first, you know."

"I know. And no, we didn't find anything," I lied.

"Fuck you! You wouldn't tell us if you did! Bloody Torchwood, you swan in here and contaminate the crime scene. We'll never find the killer if you keep doing this!"

"I'm sorry." What was I doing? Why was I apologising to this woman? There was something about her accusing stare and demand for justice that made me feel guilty for not assisting her and her colleagues.

"Come on, Gwen, let's get back." A taller, blond policeman had hold of the policewoman's shoulder. She shook him off.

"You're not sorry," she said with force, pointing at me, "but that woman's family is! Her husband and her son and daughters are sorry. Her mother is sorry. You couldn't fucking care about them, about what they'll have to go through for the rest of their lives!"

"That's enough, Gwen." The policeman had a firmer hold on her arm and was dragging her away. "Sorry, sir."

"Leave me alone, Andy!" Gwen said, struggling but unable to get free. Within a few paces, they were swallowed up by a group of other officers and technicians.

It was a moment before I moved away. We had waltzed in and tested the Glove on a dead woman with little thought for her at all. That was what Torchwood did, what Torchwood had always done. And look where it had got them. Halfway back to the SUV I stopped again. Torchwood, set up to protect the British Empire, had never cared about its citizens. I was all too aware of times when men, women and even children had been sacrificed for the supposedly greater good. An image of a barren and cold hillside in Scotland came and went. I had tried to change Torchwood, to make it more humane after the excesses of Yvonne Hartman but here I was using recently murdered people to test an artefact that had no lasting benefit for anyone.

I gazed back and met the accusing eyes of the policewoman.

* * *

_Happy New Year everyone - Jay_


	48. Chapter 48

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Eight

The Hub was quiet again. Owen was in the medical bay performing an autopsy on the first of the four Roman legionaries. He had gone there after I'd stopped the shouting match between him and Suzie. The pair of them had started in the SUV on the ride back to base and just carried on, back and forth, about the practicality and morality of using the Glove. Banishing Owen to the medical bay, I had taken Suzie into my office and there she sat with arms folded staring at me belligerently.

"What's going on, Suze? In all the time I've known you I've never seen you like this."

"It's that bloody child, Harper!"

"Owen's not changed, it's you that's different. You never rise to his bait." I kept my tone calm and neutral, determined not to get drawn into accusations and the like. Something was wrong and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Talk to me, Suzie."

"I'm fine, I'm just sick of Owen continually harping on about the Glove. He's not let up ever since we started testing it. You know that."

"Which is what Owen does about most things. So why is it bothering you so much now?" I leant forward on the desk, resting my forearms on the top and searching her face for clues. Her eyes met mine then her gaze dropped.

After a few moments' silence she sighed deeply. "He's just getting to me, Jack. His continual griping is finally wearing me down." She looked up and this time smiled faintly. "It's worse since we ended our affair, he didn't take that too well."

I was not convinced. Their affair had been over for months and this current friction between them had arisen in the past couple of weeks; if they were going to be at loggerheads it would have been worse immediately after the breakup. It seemed to me that Suzie's irritability was linked in some way to her use of the Glove. She had been the one to explore its uses, to experiment with it and to get the damned thing to work. I had come across plenty of other artefacts that had affected humans in unexpected ways, was that happening here? But how to broach it with her, that was the difficulty. If her obsession with the Glove was the cause of her irritability she'd never admit it and it would be hard to prove.

"Maybe you're working too hard," I began, having decided a softly-softly approach would be best. "When was the last time you had a day off?"

"I had Thursday afternoon. Your memory going, Jack?" She tried to laugh but it sounded forced.

"I remember having to order you to take the time. It must be a fortnight since you had a proper break."

"Oh come on, how can we take time off when it's been as busy as it has? Tosh hasn't had any time off for as long, longer maybe." She had a point, our usual schedule had rather fallen into abeyance.

"But she's not moody and snapping at people. No, Suzie, don't pull that face at me, you have been."

"Okay, maybe I have been a bit less … tolerant than usual. But we've had a lot to deal with. What with Cybermen and Romans, and the Tenquoo before them. And the other stuff, the ordinary work, still has to be done. Is it surprising if Owen's taunts get to me occasionally?"

"No, he gets to all of us from time to time," I admitted, thinking of many occasions when I'd wanted to thump him. "But we're talking about now. I think you should take tomorrow off, have twenty four hours to chill out. How about it?"

She huffed and puffed but accepted it. I was relieved when she went back to her desk and started sorting through the few outstanding items we'd agree she'd do before leaving. I hoped that the day off would help restore her to normal but I feared I had ducked the real issue. However, if a break from work - and the Glove - helped that was an indication that there was a link between the two. In her absence I was going to do some hard thinking, and maybe experiment a bit more with the Glove myself.

Toshiko hovered at the office door, unsure whether to come in. I smiled at her encouragingly, pleased to see her respond in kind and walk in; at least one of the team was acting normally.

"I meant to give you these," she said as she handed me a folder of papers. "They're the people Archie is looking at for his new team."

"Thanks, Tosh. Had a chance to look at them yourself?" I opened the folder and glanced inside.

"Yeah, I looked them over last night at the hotel and ran a few checks. The results are in the folder. They look possible."

"Good." I closed the folder, still unsettled by my chat with Suzie and not ready to look at CVs. "When did you last have a day off, Tosh? Seems you're overdue." I smiled at her startled expression.

"What brought this on?"

"I think we all need a break." I glanced towards Suzie and then at the entrance to the medical bay. She got my meaning, she's a bright girl.

"It's been a couple of weeks. But I did have that sick day."

"Being sick doesn't count. Suzie's off tomorrow so why don't you have Monday?"

"Uh, I suppose I could. There are a few things I could do," she went on thoughtfully. She smiled brightly. "Yes, that would be good. Thanks, Jack."

"Don't wait for me to badger you into it next time, Tosh. Please?"

"I'll try not to. What about you? You never have any time off, you need a break just as much as the rest of us." She looked concerned, like a mother hen when her chick is straying.

"I'll think about it." I smiled as a thought came to me. Ianto had texted again, to check if he was needed back and to ask if I would have time to join him for a drink. I'd not replied yet; maybe I would go out. "Actually, I wouldn't mind an hour now but …" I looked from Suzie to the medical bay again.

"They'll be all right. I'll referee if they start up again. You go."

"All right, I will. Thanks, Tosh, don't know what I'd do without you." I strapped on my Webley and reached for my greatcoat. "Call if they get out of hand."

I called Ianto as I walked out into the Plass and he seemed pleased I had some free time. We agreed to meet in The Golden Cross on Custom House Street and I hopped on a bus going that way. Sitting amid the late Saturday afternoon shoppers and noisy teenagers, I turned my mind away from Torchwood and all the many calls on my time and contemplated a quiet drink with Ianto, an oasis in a troublesome day. Or so I hoped. I didn't want to talk about my not dying or his nightmares or his problems with his family. I just wanted a quiet drink.

The pub was busy with various groups but I spotted Ianto easily. He was leaning against the bar towards the back, scanning the door for my arrival. His smile of welcome was a sight for sore eyes and I walked through the crowd to his side, a grin on my face.

"Hey, have a good day?" I asked, standing beside him. He had a pint of beer in front of him, about a quarter drunk.

"Not bad. You?"

"Don't ask!" The barmaid, an efficient older woman, took my order – water, I didn't need anything more - and moved on to the next customer. "Cheers." We clinked glasses.

"I could have come back, if you'd needed me."

"Not that kind of bad. Suzie and Owen got into it, but I don't want to talk about it. Tell me what you've been doing."

And he did. We found a table scrunched in a corner and I let his lovely Welsh vowels wash over me and take away the tension. He had given a month's notice on his flat and we talked about the few items of furniture he had there and getting them to the Hub. I offered him another room but he seemed content to stay where he was. It gave him enough room to set his possessions out, more than I had in my quarters, and was the nearest to the showers. I asked about his friend, the one he had met for lunch, and was relieved to find it was a guy he had played sports with at school, Terry Evans, who was unhappily married and had spent all the time they were together moaning about his wife and discussing the pros and cons of divorce. Ianto did not seem to have enjoyed the meeting much but it was part and parcel of normal life and that pleased me, he needed some normality. The whole team did, perhaps if we had more life outside the Hub these little flare-ups like Suzie and Owen's wouldn't occur.

"What have you been doing?" he asked, when I came back with another round of drinks.

"Resurrecting the dead. A woman, not far from here actually. That's what started Owen off."

He sipped his pint. "Do you really think we should be using that thing?"

"It's important we know what the Glove can do. Only way we can do that is by testing it." I wasn't going to share my doubts with him. It wasn't fair to burden him with my concerns and anyway I needed a lot longer to think it all through myself before telling anyone else. The policewoman's challenge had also raised a lot of issues for me to mull over, issues that could have far-reaching consequences for the team.

"I suppose."

The silence that ensued was comfortable but I didn't it want to go on too long. "Still want to let Myfanwy out? There's no moon tonight, might be a good time to try."

His face brightened and we discussed the practicalities. He really cares for the creature, probably feels responsible for it as he was the one that found it and looks after it. We were still talking about the details when we left the pub only to find the heavens had opened and it was tipping it down. We sheltered under the awning of a jeweller's shop and to pass the time looked at the items in the window. Ianto was keen on the watches and we discussed the advantages of a fob watch against a wrist watch, me preferring the former and him the latter. Ten minutes later, the rain had eased and we were able to force our way onto a crowded bus and ride down to the Quay.

I stopped short of the water tower and looked round. "Myfanwy would come out over there," I pointed towards the back of some shops and Jolyon's Hotel. "It's pretty deserted at night and dark. Should be okay."

"Is it big enough for her to get through?"

"Should be. We'll try it anyway, long as it stays quiet."

"We'll have to go up on one of these roofs and watch." He smiled at me, knowing how much I love to get up high.

"Thought you didn't like heights," I joked, walking to the invisible lift.

"Then you'll have to keep a tight hold on me." His straight face was a perfect mask but I could see the twinkle in his eye.

"I think I can do that." We were both smiling as we descended into the Hub. I looked round warily. Toshiko was at her desk and waved as we descended but neither of the other two were in sight.

"I'll make some coffee," offered Ianto.

"There's some shortbread in the kitchen, Tosh brought it back. Bring some with you."

"I'm not sure you need biscuits," he began.

"I'm not fat!" I slapped my abs which were still in good shape.

"Lord knows how, the amount you eat!" He turned and made for the coffee machine.

"Must be in my genes," I called after him. In the work area I heard Owen before I saw him, he was singing along to a song I didn't know and sounded happy. "Tosh, everything okay?"

"Uh huh. Suzie left ten minutes ago and Owen's been in there all the time." She gestured to the medical bay. "He's been making that noise for a while."

"You must be sick of it." I glanced at the clock; five forty. "Ianto's making coffee and hopefully he'll bring some shortbread too. What does the Rift look like?"

We were still there, looking at the readings from the Rift predictor when Ianto came up with a tray containing mugs of coffee and a plate of petticoat tail shortbread. I pounced on the latter and had a piece in my mouth in double quick time; it was delicious. After a dirty look at me, Ianto went on to the medical bay with Owen's drink. There was going to be a Rift opening that night around three o'clock but it looked small enough; I should be able to cope with it alone. I went into the office – with some more shortbread - and hung up my greatcoat, and was looking at the messages that were on the desk when Ianto joined me. He shut the door, leaning back against it.

"You okay?"

"Owen was nice to me."

"What? Why?"

"That's what I want to know. Have you two been talking about me?"

I put down the messages and perched on the desk, time to talk about counselling. "I did consult him about a counsellor, like I said I would. He thinks it's worth a try."

"That's why he's being nice to me? Because he thinks I'm bonkers?" It was hard to read Ianto's mood. He didn't appear angry or upset, more confused than anything. I suppose having Owen be even mildly polite is enough to throw most people.

"No one thinks you're bonkers. I did comment on his bedside manner, or lack thereof, maybe that's what started this." I paused then went on. "About the counsellor. There's a guy called Duncan Strachan that we've used before. If you're willing, he can see you on Tuesday."

He looked away, then down at his shoes, shoving his hands in his jeans' pockets, and then raised his head to look at me. "I … I suppose it can't hurt."

"That's the spirit." I stood and held him by the upper arms. "Just give it a chance, huh?"

"Yeah, okay. I'd better go and drink my coffee, before it goes cold."

I watched him go out into the work area and join Toshiko and Owen – who had come up to get some shortbread – and start chatting. I left them to it and sat at the desk, working through the messages and emails. I called Archie who must have already been in the pub if the background noise was anything to go by; I wondered if he was meeting Morag later and smiled at the thought. He only wanted to thank me for Toshiko's help and to ask for my thoughts on the people he was looking to recruit. Promising to get back to him on that, I managed to end the call after a few more pleasantries. One of the emails was from Colonel Mace saying the Swiss UNIT guys were going in at five o'clock Sunday morning; they had delayed their entry until they had some vital piece of equipment. He promised to let me know what happened as soon as he could. That reminded me of Peter Whyte and Henry Parker and I accessed the surveillance we had set up on both of them. Whyte was still going about his daily routine while Parker was holed up at the Lisvane house. They had talked to one another a few times about nothing obviously connected with the Cyberman but there were other references that might be worth following up.

"Jack, okay if I get off?" Owen was at the door. "It's Saturday night and I need a drink."

"What time is it?"

"Sevenish. Tosh says there's a Rift opening later. Want me to come back for that?"

"Nah, you're all right. It looks small enough for me to handle, but keep your mobile on."

"Will do. So, okay to go? I've done two of the autopsies."

"Okay." I got up and followed him out of the office. "Tosh, can you set up a program to go through the transcripts of Parker and Whyte's calls? They seem to be discussing buying more artefacts."

"Sure. I'll do a word recognition program." She started tapping at the keyboard, it would only take her ten minutes or so.

"Then you can get off; you've had a long day."

"What about the opening?" She didn't look round, just kept tapping away.

"I'll deal with it. If I need you, I'll let you know."

"If you're sure."

A quarter of an hour later, she and Owen had departed. Ianto was in the medical bay swabbing the floor and washing down the examination table. I suppose I should have made Owen stay and clear up but it was very arousing to watch Ianto stretch and bend as he worked.

When he was done, we dirtied the medical bay all over again.


	49. Chapter 49

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Forty Nine

The shag in the medical bay was very satisfying. Ianto had taken the lead and I'd discovered how uncomfortable the examination table can be when pinned down under a well built and handsome Welshman, not that I was complaining. We repaired to the showers afterwards and then got dressed. At Ianto's request, I wore the jeans he'd discovered in my wardrobe with a shirt. It felt strange but I was in the mood to please him.

"So tell me," I asked, watching him move around the kitchen making us a sandwich, "what sports did you play at school?" I thought basketball would suit him, he was tall enough.

"Hockey."

"Hockey!? That's a girls' game."

"No it isn't!" He had turned and pointed a knife at me dangerously. "A lot of men play. It's in the Olympics."

"Okay, if you say so." He went back to the sandwiches. "Got one of those sticks to play with?"

"Yes, bit difficult without," he replied without looking round. "Why?"

"Just thinking. Lots of things you could do with a hockey stick …"

He turned and looked at me quizzically, the knife pointing in my direction again. "Like what?"

"Bring it in and I'll show you." I did my best leer and saw him colour as some possibilities occurred to him.

Feeling pleased with myself, I left the kitchen and went up to the work area. Myfanwy circled lazily overhead and I wondered if she would enjoy her taste of freedom later on or if it would just remind her what she had lost; only time would tell. Checking the police channels only revealed a normal Saturday evening's activity in the capital; lots of drunken brawling and a few car accidents as well as a domestic incident in Llandaff. No Weevils on the rampage, or so it seemed, which was a relief. Ianto came over with the sandwiches and we ate them with a beer, sitting side by side on the sofa.

"I think we should wait until midnight before releasing Myfanwy," I said, swallowing my mouthful. "Less people around."

"Fine."

"Want to get some sleep before then?"

"No, I'm okay." He put his empty plate on the coffee table and wrapped both hands around his bottle of beer. "Can we talk … about you not dying?"

"Okay." It had to come but I was still not sure I was ready. "Fire away."

"Is it always like that last time?" He had twisted round and was facing me.

"Pretty much."

He waited but when I didn't elaborate he took up the questioning again. "Your … your throat was cut but then it wasn't."

"I heal really fast. It's all part of it."

"I suppose it would have to be." He looked thoughtful, considering the implications of what happened to me. I felt a little like a lab rat being studied but tried not to show it. "If you didn't, you'd just die again."

"Absolutely." I took a swig of the beer and then another, emptying the bottle. I needed to do something to maintain my calm.

He reached out a hand to my collar and gently pushed it aside to study my neck. I let him, not sure what was on his mind. He smiled and said, "Now I understand why you don't get hickeys."

"Not fair, is it, when you consider all those I've given you."

"No." His smile faded and his hand fell back into his lap. "How did it happen? This not dying."

"I don't know, really I don't. I was killed, properly killed, but then I came back to life. I have no idea how or why." A vision of three approaching Daleks, firing and then blackness made me shiver.

"Were you working for Torchwood? Would it be in the records?" There was an eagerness in his voice, a willingness to help which touched me.

"No, it was before I joined." Thirty years before.

"When was that? Because it you can't die … how old are you?"

"Does it matter?" I temporised, hoping to avoid answering. Telling him the truth would no doubt alienate him and I didn't want to lie.

"Yes, I think so, and you said you'd answer my questions. Or was that another lie?" His expression hardened and his gaze bore into me.

"I joined Torchwood in '99."

He looked at me thoughtfully. "But if you joined then," he said slowly, "you'd have been new when Alex Hopkins killed his team. Yvonne Hartman would never have left you in charge. You're lying to me!" he accused.

My ruse had not worked; trust an archivist to know so much about dates. I decided to tell him the truth. "1899."

There, I'd said it. I kept looking at him, seeing his expression change from accusation to shock. His mouth opened and stayed that way for several seconds. The horror and disgust would follow now and I didn't want to see it, didn't want to witness the moment when he knew me for the freak I was. I stood up and went to the fridge for another beer, keeping my back to him. A hand on my shoulder made me start in surprise and I looked back into blue eyes, eyes full of wonder.

"You're over a hundred years old?" he asked.

"Yes." More than that really, I'd been on Earth one hundred and thirty eight years and I'd been hopping around time and space for a good few years before that.

"You don't look it."

"Good job, I'd be a wrinkled old prune." I tried to laugh but it got stuck in my throat. I don't know who moved first but we ended up in one another's arms, our chins resting on the other's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, cariad," he murmured, his breath tickling my ear.

"What was that?" I moved back a little, staying in his arms, so I could look into his face. "What did you call me?"

"Cariad. It means … well, it's a term of endearment." He looked shifty and would have moved away but I stopped him.

"What does it mean?" He stayed silent. "I'll look it up on the Net if you don't tell me."

"Its formal meaning is 'beloved' but now it's more just 'love'. You know," he went on, "as in 'How are you, love?' and stuff."

I had the distinct impression that he had used it in the formal sense. It was a bit worrying as I didn't want him to get too close to me. The Doctor would be coming soon and who knows what would happen once he had cured me; I was hardly going to hang around Cardiff when there were galaxies to be explored. I brought my mind back to the important issue.

"Okay, I'll believe you. You aren't … bothered that I'm so old?" He was still in my arms and I felt him relax, saw the small smile that I'd come to know very well.

"It's just another part of your uniqueness." He kept smiling, doing a good job of appearing relaxed about my revelation. I was sure he was more concerned than he was letting on. "The things you must have seen."

"Oh yeah."

"You'll have to tell me about them."

"Maybe. Sometime." Suddenly I was reluctant to carry on this conversation. He was taking it all very well but it was not something I relished talking about. "Any more questions?" I eased out of his arms and took a swig from the beer bottle in my hand.

"Not if you don't want to answer them."

He moved past me and got himself another beer, keeping his back to me as I moved to the sofa. There were a few tense minutes until he came and joined me. We sat side by side not touching – which is unusual for us, for me anyway – and silent. I felt a heel for cutting him off like that. He had not rejected me, had not accused me of being a freak or a monster and yet I had still blanked him out.

"I'm sorry, Ianto. I'm not used to talking about this and, well, frankly it's not something I even like to think about. Maybe we could continue another time?"

"Sure." He smiled at me. "I appreciate you … saying what you have. I understand now why you have so many secrets." And he didn't know the half of them. What would he think if I told him I'd come from the future and had travelled through time? That I had a daughter and grandson? "There's one thing though."

"What's that?"

"Torchwood must have known about your … ability. Didn't they try and help?"

"If you call experimenting in ways they could kill me helping then, yeah, they helped." He was staring at me again, mouth open in shock. Despite what this boy had been through he was still innocent of the baser nature of mankind. I reached out and put an arm round his shoulders pulling him close. He came willingly, resting his head on my shoulder. "It was a long time ago and, as you can see, I survived."

"I'm sorry."

We stayed there for the next two hours, talking a little about ordinary things but mostly content to be quiet together. He dozed off for a while and I thought back on those early days when Emily and Alice had delighted in finding ways I could die. It hadn't lasted long, not once they'd seen how useful I could be to them and how much I knew about non-human life forms. But each subsequent leader had considered trying an experiment or two, if not actually carried them out, except Gerald. There had been more than enough slaughter on the Western Front for him not to need to see any more. A good bloke.

At eleven fifty I woke Ianto and we got ready to release Myfanwy. With coats on, we went out via the lift and I took him to the roof of the Pierhead Building. I'd have preferred the Millennium Centre but without parapets he'd have been too scared to go out on the roof.

"You okay there?" Ianto was well back from the edge, holding on to a handy railing.

"Uh huh. I just won't look down." He managed a smile.

"Good idea."

I turned back to the view over the Plass and released the Hub's roof exit. Nothing happened for several minutes and it seemed Myfanwy would need some prodding to find it. Then she soared out of the opening and up into the black sky, a large white shape against the city's lights.

"Oh, wow." Ianto moved up next to me, clutching my arm for support, watching her flap her wings and soar above the buildings. "She's enjoying it," he said, turning to grin at me before looking back at Myfanwy.

We watched her for half an hour as she soared up and down and out over the water. If she strayed too far, I used my wrist-strap controls to bring her back but on the whole she was extremely well behaved. There were a few people walking below us but she didn't bother them having been fed that afternoon. When Ianto started to shiver I wrapped him in my arms and enjoyed the feel of his lithe body against mine but the cold eventually got too much and I used the controls again. This time Myfanwy returned to the Hub, manoeuvring through the roof exit without any difficulty before I closed it.

"Thank you, Jack, thanks so much." Ianto turning round in my arms and kissing me. "Let's go in so I can thank you properly."

"Now you're talking."

I left Ianto sleeping peacefully and after cleaning up and getting dressed in my usual clothes – jeans are okay but not my garb of choice - went to the work area. It was one fifteen and I had things to do. First was a meticulous search of Suzie's desk. I was looking for her notes on the Glove – which was in its box on a cabinet – and anything else that might give me a clue about her state of mind. The official folder was easily found and I went through it again, reading it carefully. It recorded the experiments she'd undertaken, most of which I knew about, and the tests on humans. There was nothing about her reaction to using the Glove or how it affected her. Would there be a physical change? Something to consider and get Owen to check. I continued the search, taking out the desk drawers and sifting through the detritus of a working life.

The notebook was inside the budget folder and I only found it because it fell out as I moved the folder aside – who would want to willingly read that? Opening the notebook I discovered rough notes about experiments and there were a lot more than those in the official folder. Each was timed and dated and I logged on to the PC to check them; the unrecorded experiments had taken place when Suzie was out of the office. One of the few rules I insist on is that artefacts are never taken out of the base without my express permission but Suzie had ignored it and taken the Glove home with her. Damn! If it was affecting her mental state she had been exposed much more than I had imagined. I quickly checked the box on the cabinet and was relieved to find the Glove in there. Going back to the notebook I continued reading but found nothing else of note, she hadn't put anything about her feelings. Returning the drawers to the desk, I took the notebook, folder and the Glove to the office putting the latter in the secure archives under a personal access code; no one was getting at it until I knew a lot more.

Checking I still had time before the Rift opening, I made a few notes of my own including a timeline, piecing together the scraps of information and my impressions. She had been edgy a couple of times before we'd used the Glove on murder victims which was odd. I could understand her agitation afterwards, but before? When I reviewed the notes there was a pattern; Suzie WAS affected by the Glove. Sitting back, I continued to cudgel my brain and came up with one or two more incidents which I added to the notes. It was not a complete picture by any means but the evidence, if it could be called that, was mounting up,

The Rift alarm sounded and as I had expected, this was a small one, non-temporal, and a one-man job. I put all the papers away in my desk drawer and locked it. Then it was on with my greatcoat, grab the Webley and off to the SUV and the drive to Cathays. It took me ten minutes to find the artefact and another three quarters of an hour to reach and secure it. The wretched thing – a recipe book from Gowswss – had wedged in a tree at the edge of the park. By parking the SUV underneath the tree and getting on top of it I managed to reach the lowest branches and then had to climb up, taking great care as it wasn't the strongest tree in the park. With the book in my pocket and safely back on the ground, I walked round the deserted park enjoying the peace of the calm and dry night. I forced my mind to think of anything other than Suzie and the Glove, hoping that some distance from the subject would help when I had to decide on my next step. I had twenty four hours before she was back in the Hub, one day to come up with a way to get to the bottom of the situation one way or the other.

It was gone six o'clock when I returned to the SUV and climbed in. Dawn was breaking and the city was starting to wake up; cars were already taking workers to their factories and offices and lorries were making deliveries for the day. My mobile rang and the display showed it was the Hub: Ianto.

"_Jack, are you all right?" _

"I'm fine. Just watching dawn break over the treetops." I smiled when there was a distinct pause. He probably thought I was mad.

"_Right." _

"I'm on my way in, Ianto. If you're up and about, any chance of a coffee waiting for me?"

"_Of course. If you see a bakery open, bring some pastries in with you." _

"Will do." He ended the call and I started the engine.

We had bagels and coffee in the work area. It was all very cosy and made me realise how I'd come to rely on moments like these, little points of calm and companionship in usually busy days.

"So this is a recipe book." Ianto was holding the Gowswss artefact, flicking over the thick sheets of plastive, a reusable substitute for paper developed on Epsilon Gamma Four. "Oh!" His finger had caught one of the many icons and a hologram had appeared, startling him.

He looks to cute when he's startled that I had to laugh. "It's only a hologram." I pressed the activation button and watched as the Gowswss chef demonstrated how to make the dish. "There, better than Delia any day."

"But not as cute as Nigella." We grinned, she was so sexy. "How do I turn it off?"

"Press this again." I pointed to the activation button. He pressed it and the hologram disappeared.

"That's good." He closed the book and turned it over in his hands. "Where does the power come from?"

"An energy chip buried in one of the covers."

His innocent question sparked off another train of thought. We had never found out how the Resurrection Glove was powered.


	50. Chapter 50

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty

Toshiko was the first to arrive that Sunday morning. She walked through the cog door at just before eight and looked rested and ready for another day's work. She joined Ianto who was still looking at the recipe book – I hope he doesn't try any of them, Gowswss food is the pits – and they amused themselves making the holograms pop up and disappear.

I was not enjoying myself. Sat at my desk in the office, I was listening to a report of failure. Colonel Swengler, the UNIT commander in Geneva, had called me in person to explain in minute detail all he and his forces had done. I heard how they had entered and searched the clinic and seized documents and computers. He put on a good show but basically Swengler had not found the Cyberman or anything relating to it. There was a possibility something would come from the documents but I was not holding my breath. I managed to get him off the phone eventually and contemplated our next move. There was no doubt there was a Cyberman at large somewhere, hopefully still inactive. It was not at Whyte's warehouses or Tanizaki's clinic, the two most obvious places. Neither UNIT nor we had discovered any other likely hiding places. But it could not have disappeared, that just wasn't possible. I jotted a note of the call in the folder and went out to talk it through with Toshiko.

Ianto had gone off to the archives so I sat in Owen's chair and said, "The Cyberman, Tosh, it's not in Switzerland."

"Where do we look now?"

"That was going to be my next question." I smiled at her. "Can we toss a few ideas around, see what we come up with?"

"Of course."

"First, have you thought of anyway we could track it? I know there's no signature as such but … " I let the thought hang in the air, hoping her genius would come up with something new.

"No, sorry. There's just nothing to get hold of."

"Okay, it was a long shot. Next, where could Whyte have stashed it?"

"You say it's not in Switzerland, I assume you mean Tanizaki's clinic." I nodded. "Does he have any other clinics or hospitals?" As she spoke she turned to her PC and brought up the doctor's website.

"Not that I'm aware of."

I rolled the chair over to her desk and looked at the screens as she flicked through websites expertly to follow links to other pages and sites. After ten minutes we'd explored all the possibilities, including MIT where he had a visiting professorship, and not discovered anywhere that would be secure and private enough for a Cyberman.

"Maybe that's the angle," said Toshiko thoughtfully. "Instead of looking at what these men have available, why not consider the location they would need to house a Cyberman?"

"Good idea. Private, that's the most important, like that place in Epping Forest. That's a point, why were they using it? Is it one of Parker's places?"

"Don't think we ever looked into that."

She was tapping away again and after a few minutes had got into the Land Registry database. It took another quarter of an hour but we finally tracked it down as belonging to Woodland Enterprises, an organisation neither of us had heard of. Applying more of Toshiko's genius for getting into places we weren't supposed to, we discovered that Woodland Enterprises was owned by Parker. He'd tried to hide it within holding companies which was interesting; he obviously didn't want it linked to him. Maybe there were other goodies to be found here. After a bit more searching we located a list of properties held by the company; other than the one in Epping, all the others were in Wales.

"We need to check these out," I said, tapping the list of four properties Toshiko had printed out. Two were near Builth Wells, one not far from Lampeter and the other at Betws-y-Coed.

"I can hack into the satellites, get a good look at them that way." She was working on it as she spoke. "I'll also see what security they've got, they'd need it for a Cyberman."

"Excellent, you get on with that. And see if you can find any more about this Woodland Enterprises." It would take her a while to do all of that. "Did you have any joy with the phone calls between Parker and Whyte?"

"I haven't had a chance to go through the results of the search yet."

"Send them to me. I'll do that while you get on with this other stuff."

"Okay."

Back in the office and sucking on a stick of Edinburgh rock – only two left - I settled at the desk again and turned to the PC. Toshiko's email was waiting in my in-box but I didn't open it. I had other things to do first, things I didn't want the others to know about, not yet anyway. I went into the South Wales Police's website and found the usual flannel about how it is meeting the challenges of modern day policing. Using some tricks I'd learnt over the years, and one or two Toshiko had taught me, I got into their private stuff and discovered the real workings of the Force. A bit different from the positive face shown to the members of the public! Finding the personnel files I searched for my police constable from the day before and found her. Gwen Elizabeth Cooper, number 159, was twenty nine and had been with the police for five years. I skipped the family stuff and went to her service record. Nothing detrimental and a couple of commendations. Her annual assessments were good and she was being groomed for the sergeant's examination. With a degree under her belt I wondered why she wasn't on the fast track but then remembered this was Wales; they like to do things the old-fashioned way.

Her current assignment was support to a taskforce set up to look into the murder of Sarah Pallister and now Rani Ghosh. Both women had been killed in the same way – attacked from in front and stabbed with a large blade – and, it was assumed, by the same assailant. It was still early days in the investigation, the second murder had taken place only yesterday, and enquiries were focussed on tracking the victims' movements, their family and friends and on gathering forensic evidence. Only we knew that the killer was a woman, an Asian woman. Which gave me pause. The policewoman – Gwen – had accused us of not caring about the victims and she was right. We had information that would help find this crazy killer but had not even considered passing it on. I thought about it now. Should I tell them? Would it help? No, was my conclusion, on both counts. Our 'evidence' was never going to be presented to a court as neither I nor any of my team was going to testify about the Glove. Not only would it blow what cover Torchwood had left in the city, no jury would ever believe us.

"Jack, there's Weevils loose in Splott!" Toshiko's shout brought me out of my musings and back to the present with a bump. "Two of them."

"Where?" I had closed the PC pages and was out in the work area, standing behind her as she worked her usual magic checking CCTV, monitoring police channels and collating all the information. "And where's Owen?" It was nine forty; he should have been in by now, especially as he knew Suzie was off.

"The small industrial estate on Portmanmoor Road. Not far from the heliport. And I'm sure Owen's on his way." I was far from sure, he was probably still recovering from a boozy Saturday night, but Toshiko would always stick up for him even though he did nothing to deserve her loyalty.

"Going to be you and me then," I told her. "Grab the kits and let's go." On the way back to the office I called Ianto up on the comms. "Ianto, there're Weevils in Splott. Tosh and I are on our way."

"_Okay. Need me for anything?"_ he asked immediately.

"Not at the moment, just wanted you to know you're on your own." I had my Webley strapped on and was shrugging into my greatcoat, missing him there to help me.

"_Where's Owen?" _

"Late. Again. See you."

With that, I joined Toshiko and we left through the cog door. Once we were on our way, driving through light Sunday morning traffic, I called up Owen. "Owen, where the hell are you?"

"_Just got out of the tunnel, why?"_ I could hear engine noise in the background so he was at least in his car.

"We have Weevils in Splott. Tosh'll send you the location, meet us there ASAP."

"_Okay." _

Portmanmoor Road was actually only a couple of miles from the Hub but to get there by road I had to go into the city and then head east, at least twice as far. The estate was more or less deserted, just one or two businesses were open, and I followed Toshiko's directions round the looping road which threaded through buildings of various sizes. The estate was similar to the one in Merthyr where Whyte had his warehouses but that had been run down while this was all shiny and new, like Cardiff itself. Just about every part of the city was getting a makeover, even Splott. As I pulled over at the side of the road, Owen's Boxster came into view and parked alongside.

"I don't see them, Tosh." She was sitting in the back of the SUV with the door open, Owen and I stood a few feet away.

"They're inside. A security guard from over there," she pointed to a DIY place, "saw them and called it in."

"So we have Weevils in pet supplies. Fitting I suppose," put in Owen. He was eying the small warehouse which had a huge sign over the door proclaiming it to be Taylor's Pet Warehouse.

"They'd make lousy pets," I commented, putting spray and cuffs into my pockets.

"Says the man with a pet pterodactyl!"

"Don't you criticise Myfanwy!" I grinned at him. "We let her out last night. She was a great sight flying out over the Bay."

"Ah … could we get back to the problem in hand?" said Toshiko pointedly. "Two Weevils are in that building."

"Sorry, Tosh. Any people in there?"

"No," she said slowly, "but there are two additional heat signatures. Too small to be people."

"Pets?" queried Owen, checking his Glock before jamming it in his jeans pocket. He was also loaded up with spray, cuffs and hoods.

"Possible. Dogs perhaps, but this place is supposed to only sell cages and bedding and things like that." She was tapping away at her keyboard. "Oh."

"What?" I asked, turning to her.

"One of the signatures just disappeared." We all knew what that meant; a Weevil had got to it and snuffed it out.

"Stay here and direct us, Tosh. Owen, with me."

A quick recce of the building soon revealed how the Weevils had got in; a large window was propped open. I suppose that should have warned me of what was to come but at that moment I was too busy climbing in and keeping an eye out for marauding Weevils. When we were both inside, I led the way towards the back of the warehouse which was stacked high with pallets of boxes and crates. A sudden scream, choked off suddenly, stopped me in my tracks.

"Shit. That was human," said Owen.

"It came from over there." I pointed to the right and we moved in that direction, guns in hand.

Rounding a corner we found the source of one of the heat signatures. The body of a child, boy probably but it was impossible to tell right then, was in pieces on the floor. It had been pulled apart by a Weevil and partly eaten – not pretty. I glanced at Owen whose face was set and determined; he may be studying the Weevils but he was far from sympathetic to them right then. We continued on towards the sounds of movement and came across two Weevils hunkered down, gnawing on the body parts of another child. That's when I realised the significance of the propped open window; these kids had broken in, either to steal or just out of devilment, and paid with their lives.

Beside me, Owen raised his Glock and shot one of the Weevils in the shoulder, following it up with one to the chest. The creature went down and back, flailing around on the floor before going still. I put a bullet between the eyes of the other Weevil before it could react. There was no point in trying to take these in alive; they'd tasted blood, human blood.

"_Jack, you okay?"_ came over the comms from Tosh.

"Both Weevils are dead. We're fine but those heat signatures … they were kids."

"_Oh no."_ Even after all she had seen she could still be moved by pointless death. And what was more pointless than the death of a child.

"This'll be hell to clean up," put in Owen. He was right.

It took the rest of the morning to remove the bodies of the Weevils and collect up the body parts of the two kids which we put into one body bag. While Owen and I washed away the blood and set up the place to look like a burglary, Toshiko drove the SUV back to the Hub to begin setting up a cover for the kids' disappearance and death. Not easy as we didn't know who they were. At midday, after administering Retcon to the security guard who had reported the Weevils and come over to see what we were doing, I joined Owen in his car and drove back to the base. He took the back way, round Roath Dock, and didn't hurry. I guess he was as affected as Toshiko by these deaths.

The Hub was quiet when we entered through the garage door. Toshiko was at her desk and Ianto was standing leaning on the railing alongside. They looked round when we approached.

"I've put the Weevils in storage for now, sir," reported Ianto, "and the … others are in the medical bay."

"Thanks." I smiled at him wearily and got a reassuring smile back. "Tosh?"

"No joy in identifying them yet. I guess they won't be missed until later, when they don't show up at home." She looked grim.

I expect she, like me, was imagining the families' anger when the kids didn't return for Sunday lunch. An anger that would turn to fear when the two couldn't be found in their usual haunts and then the desperation of a search and frantic phone calls to the police. And we couldn't prevent that as until we knew who they were we couldn't put together a cover story.

"What about one of your facial recognition searches?" asked Owen, walking slowly towards the medical bay. None of us envied him having to sort and reassemble the bodies for autopsy.

"We haven't looked in the body bag," she admitted. I didn't blame her or Ianto; who would want to do that if they didn't have to?

"I'd better get on with it then." Owen did not sound enthusiastic.

"Hang on, Owen," I said as he made to enter the medical bay. "How about we go out for a quick lunch first? The break'll do us good and we need to eat."

"'Long as it's not steak."

We went to Bellini's, a nearby Italian restaurant, and had pasta. Not a trace of meat anywhere on our plates. The tasty food and a beer each helped us get over the horrors of the morning and we were in a better mood when we got back to the Hub around two. Owen went off to change into scrubs and begin his grisly task while Toshiko returned to her desk and continued to monitor the police and news channels while overseeing the many other tasks she had on the go. I went into the office and went back to my thoughts of Cybermen and murders.

The analysis of Parker and Whyte's phone calls didn't give me anything on the location of the Cyberman, but it did show they were in the process of buying something. Parker was moving money around – over quarter of a million pounds – so whatever it was had to be important. I upped his status to 'Active' and ordered increased security scans. Suzie would get onto that in the morning. Thinking of her, reminded me of the Glove and the murders and I was reviewing the notes I'd made when there was a knock at the door and Ianto was standing there.

"UNIT are here, sir."

"What? What for?"

"They've brought some Cyber-equipment, said you agreed it." He glanced down at some papers in his hand – UNIT are big on paperwork. "Colonel Mace sent it."

I remembered then and looked across at the note I'd made to remind me that it was coming; hadn't worked very well. "Yeah, that's right. Sorry, forgot all about it. Let's go help them unload." With the help of the four UNIT guys – very fit and tasty – we got the equipment into the delivery bay and Ianto signed for it. After the lorry had left, I looked at the heap of equipment all of which would have to be destroyed. "Let's get this lot inside for now."

It took an hour to get it through the doors and along the passageway into the Hub, even with Toshiko helping. We stacked it on the lower level and stood catching our breath. Toshiko nudged me and nodded towards Ianto who was staring at the pile in horror.

I had thought the day was bad but it had just got worse for Ianto.

* * *

_Wow, fifty chapters. This story has grown and grown. But there's more to come, if you still want to read it. Do let me know - Jay._


	51. Chapter 51

_Thanks for the positive responses to the last chapter. As you want more, here it is. Enjoy._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty One

"Right," I said with false cheeriness, "that's given me a thirst. Coffee please, Ianto."

I grinned and gave him a gentle push towards the machine. He didn't move for a moment, not resisting my urgings exactly but not co-operating either, before finally take a step, then another, in the right direction. His face lost the look of horror and resumed its impassive mask

"What do you want to do with this?" asked Toshiko quietly, when Ianto was out of earshot. She gestured to the heap of Cyber-equipment. It contained the conversion unit as well as monitoring equipment, some of which was standard medical issue. "We can't leave it here, not where he can see it."

"There's some tarps in the vaults. We can cover it over for now, until we have a chance to sort it out and dispose of it. I'll get them, you distract Ianto."

She laughed and put a hand on my arm, restraining me. "I think you'd be a better distraction." With that, she was off to the vaults. She's a real friend.

I wandered over to the coffee machine in the corner, behind Ianto's desk, where he was taking his time making his fabulous brew, keeping his back to the rest of the Hub. I stood, hands in my pockets, and watched as he pulled levers and added ingredients.

"I'm all right, sir," he said without looking up.

"You didn't look it."

He paused, mug in hand, and then said, "It just took me back, that's all." Glancing over, he managed a smile. "My flat looked a lot like that when I took Lisa there." Realising he was still holding the mug, he put it in place and let the delicious coffee fill it up.

"I'll make sure we get rid of it soon." I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Now, is that for me?" I nodded to the coffee.

"Yes, sir." He handed the blue and white striped mug over and made the rest. With the three other mugs on a tray he walked past the heap of equipment – pointedly ignoring it - to the work area.

I helped Toshiko stretch the tarpaulins over the heap so that it was completely covered before joining Ianto and Owen who were sipping coffee at the medical bay entrance. Owen looked drawn and his scrubs had streaks of blood and other matter on them. With anyone else I would have offered a word of encouragement but not to him. He had never welcomed that approach, preferring to maintain a stoical demeanour until he could forget everything in drink.

"They're boys, about nine years old," said Owen. "The heads are pretty much intact; I've sent you photos, Tosh." He sipped from his coffee again. "Height is between four foot five and seven. Hard to tell for sure because the femurs were shattered; Weevils were getting at the marrow. Both boys were well fed and had good teeth so probably from a decent home."

"Thanks, I'll set up the facial recognition program." Toshiko did not immediately turn to her PC, she was looking in sympathy at Owen. Given some encouragement, she'd have wrapped him in her arms and hugged him but, of course, he ignored her.

"We'll need bodies to replace these," I mused. "What have we got available?" We keep a supply of bodies in the cryo-chamber to help with our cover-up operations but mostly it's adults. I didn't think we had any kids in storage at that moment.

"There are some kids," said Owen, in an unemotional tone. "Came from that undertaker in Canton."

"You get bodies from undertakers?" asked Ianto, round eyed in shock.

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "Tosh?" She had been tapping at her keyboard, checking the inventory.

"There are two that look like they'll do." She brought up another screen. "The police have issued an alert for the missing boys. The pictures match. They're Martin Webber and Bryan Kellegher, age nine, next door neighbours from Minton Court, Splott."

"What cover have you got in mind?"

"It'll have to be something pretty simple," she mused. "The bodies we have were pulled out of the river so best if we stick to drowning. The boys could have been playing and fallen into Roath Dock."

"Sounds good. You and Owen put that in train but make sure they're found tonight, no need to prolong this for the families."

"I'll finish up," said Owen, putting his empty coffee mug on the table. "Be about an hour or so, Tosh, okay?"

"Uh-huh. We can prepare the bodies and then dump them after dark." By 'prepare' she meant disfigure them sufficiently to pass for the dead boys. She gave Owen a reassuring smile before he went into the medical bay and she turned back to the PC.

I could see that this conversation was having an effect on Ianto. Dealing with cover ups was still new to him and he really needed a diversion now. "Ianto, get your coat. I need a breath of air and I'd like some company."

Ten minutes later we were outside in the weak sunshine. The ground was wet so there must have been a shower after we'd got back from lunch and there were some dark clouds massing over the sea. We'd get more before the day was out. I led the way around the Bay towards the Norwegian church, a favourite spot of mine. It gave a great view of the water, the boats and of the new buildings around the Plass. We didn't talk as we strolled along but the silence wasn't oppressive. Outside the church, by the Scott memorial, I stopped and leant on the railing looking back towards the Quay.

"None of us enjoys having to arrange cover-ups, Ianto," I began conversationally when he joined me. "But it's necessary. I think the families of those boys would prefer to think of them drowning when a game went wrong than being pulled to pieces and eaten by Weevils." He didn't reply, just looked down at the water. "If you're bothered about the bodies, they were unclaimed and going to be cremated without fuss or ceremony. At least this way their deaths will mean something."

"It's still not right." His voice was low and his accent thick with emotion.

"Of course it isn't, but it's Torchwood. I seem to recall we had this conversation not so long ago." I remembered his reaction when a businessman had been killed in a car park in similar circumstances. We hadn't had to use a substitiute body that time, but Ianto had objected to us blackening the man's reputation by insinuating he had been involved in illegal activities.

Ianto was silent for a long time, staring down at the lapping waves. I let him alone and looked over at the barrage which was opening to let through a yacht heading out from the marina. Other boats were going back and forth, including water taxis and tourist excursions that circled the Bay. I could hear the commentary on one, pointing out the church behind me and the Tube behind that. It was a normal Sunday afternoon scene at the Bay. Parents were taking the opportunity to get out of the house and let their kids burn off some excess energy running around, climbing over the various art installations and jumping on the steps. Some couples were about too, holding hands as they walked or sat on damp benches kissing. They were all making the most of a relatively dry afternoon of leisure.

"I suppose you think I'm being stupid." Ianto's voice was low but there was less emotion in it. "I know Torchwood One must have done this but I wasn't involved. It's all new to me." He glanced my way and I smiled at him, resting a hand on his back.

"Took a while for the others to come to terms with it too, Ianto. I'd rather none of you needed to but," I shrugged, "it comes with the job."

"Yeah." He sighed heavily and leant towards me slightly until our shoulders touched. "Let's go back."

Three hours later, I was sitting in the office in an empty Hub. The others were all out at Roath Dock, looking round the area and making arrangements to dump the bodies. Ianto had asked to go along so he could learn how it was done. I'd been reluctant but he had to learn sometime; this was as good as any. The Rift was quiet again, which was welcome, with no opening for the rest of the day. I had spent the past hour getting on with some admin. The paperwork had accumulated once more and I had looked through it, signing off requisitions and checking reports before initialling them. There was healthy pile of folders in my out-tray waiting filing.

I was contemplating what to do next when my mobile rang. "Harkness."

"_Jack, it's Alan Mace. I thought we should discuss our next steps given the Geneva operation came up empty." _

"Right." I settled back in the chair, put my feet on the desk and got comfortable. "We've discovered four more properties here in Wales all owned by Parker and are checking them out by satellite. So far there's nothing out of the ordinary but it's early days." Toshiko's report had shown isolated buildings apparently involved in timber production with no visible extra security. We would probably have to go and visit them to see exactly what was going on.

"_The documents and computers seized by Colonel Swengler haven't produced anything yet either." _He paused. _"What do you think they've done with it?" _He was, of course, referring to the Cyberman.

"Honestly? I haven't a clue. I was convinced they'd have passed it to Tanizaki to make it operational."

"_A logical assumption. Is it worth continuing to keep him under observation? We may have tipped our hand too early." _

"We have to watch him, just in case. But I know what you mean, he may be too aware of our interest to be any help."

We chatted for a bit longer, tossing ideas around, but neither of us came up with anything new. This was one of those occasions when we could not use technology to cut corners; we'd have to watch and wait and be ready to act when the Cyberman surfaced again. When I got off the phone, Owen called to report in. The operation had gone well and the bodies dumped into the Dock. Toshiko had gone home where she would monitor the police search and call in with a tip-off if the bodies weren't found soon. Owen and Ianto were headed for the pubs and clubs and he invited me to join them but I declined; let them have a chance to get to know one another. Besides, I had things to do.

I unlocked the desk drawer with all my notes and scribblings about Suzie and the Glove. Reading them through again, the situation didn't look any better now than when I'd thought about it last; she was being adversely affected by the Glove and I didn't know how. I got the Glove out of the secure archives and inspected it, turning it over to look from all angles, trying to find the power source. There was nothing, nada. Gingerly, I put it on and waggled it about trying to get the little lights to come on but nothing happened. I couldn't get it to work.

Wondering if the police investigation into the deaths might have thrown up anything, I got back into the police site to check on progress. The taskforce had been working hard. There was a minute-by-minute description of each victim's movements over the twenty four hours leading up to their deaths. Enquiries had confirmed the two women did not know one another and, as far could be ascertained, had had no contact; they didn't frequent the same shops or socialise in the same places. House-to-house enquiries had generated a veritable avalanche of statements which I scanned quickly. Only one, from a neighbour, mentioned an Asian woman calling on Sarah Pallister on the day of her death. The description was vague – a tall woman with long hair and glasses – and the police had not thought it worth pursuing with any urgency. Forensic results were still awaited – they didn't have access to our advanced equipment – but some bright spark had examined the wounds and come up with an artist's impression of the blade that had inflicted them. Idly I clicked on the icon to open it … and froze.

I don't remember how I got to Suzie's desk but I found myself standing there staring at the pegboard. The knife wasn't there. There was a space where the knife we'd found with the Glove should have been. A search of the desk and its surroundings failed to locate it and I knew for sure it was not in the archives.

Could it be? Was it possible? Had Suzie become so affected by the Glove that she'd … murdered in order to use it?

Dear God, what I done?

Back at my desk I forced myself to be calm and go through all the facts once more, hoping against hope that I was wrong. I wasn't. I'd known from the start that I wasn't but I had to be absolutely sure. The evidence mounted up. First, the timings were right; she had been out of the Hub and alone when the murders had taken place. Also, if my memory was correct, she had been agitated beforehand and until the bodies had been discovered. Second, the description of the Asian woman matched Suzie. And third, and most galling, I remembered handling the knife a few days before and wondering what had caused the stains on the blade. I knew now; it was blood. Sitting back, staring at nothing, the conclusion was inescapable. There was no other knife like that on Earth, it was unique, and Suzie had used it to kill. And the knife was missing which could only mean that … Suzie was planning to use it again.

I used the locator program on Toshiko's PC to find Suzie's mobile and was relieved to discover it was at her flat in Grangetown. CCTV around there was good and I accessed the nearest, running the past hour or so checking for movements; there was no sign of Suzie on the streets. I just hoped she was in her flat and would stay there until I could get there. As I strapped on my gun and reached for my greatcoat, I wondered about getting help. Should I call in Owen and the others? No, I decided, better to do this alone just in case I was wrong.

How I wished I was wrong but in my gut I knew I wasn't.

The drive should have taken ten minutes this late on a Sunday night but an accident with a jackknifed lorry and the heavy rain had closed Clarence Road and I had to divert through the Butetown tunnel and back down Ferry Road and get into Grangetown that way. It meant another fifteen minutes on the journey, especially as a lot of other people had decided to go that way too. Drawing up before Suzie's block of flats I used my wrist-strap controls to run the locator program again and … she had moved! The mobile was moving along Clare Road around the back of the station. Cursing fluently, I drove after her. It was gone nine o'clock and dark and the traffic was still heavier than usual because of the accident and the rain. I kept the locator program running, glancing at it as I drove, and when the little blip moved into the narrow and part-pedestrianised Victorian lanes I abandoned the SUV in the forecourt of a garage and ran to catch up.

This part of Cardiff, Riverside, is mainly terraced houses and is now home to all kinds of ethnic communities. The shops and restaurants reflected the West Indian, Bangladeshi, Sikh and Chinese communities they served and were doing a good trade. I sidestepped the groups of people hurrying to get out of the rain and headed into the alleys south of Tudor Street. I was gaining on Suzie, I could tell that, but the maze of buildings and walls as well as the unnatural dark caused by the downpour prevented me getting sight of her. Then I turned into Llangyfelach Lane and saw her. She was about fifty metres ahead of me, shadowing a young man in a hoodie and jeans and as she passed under one of the few street lights I caught a glint of metal in her hand.

My worse fears were realised, she was close to claiming another victim.

* * *

_Will Jack be able to stop Suzie?_


	52. Chapter 52

_Time to put you out of your misery after last chapter's cliffhanger ending._

**

* * *

**

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Two

For the first time in decades I froze in the face of danger. I was stood in Llangyfelach Lane in the pouring rain watching Suzie Costello move up behind a man, someone she was preparing to kill, a victim of her obsession with the Resurrection Glove. So many emotions hit me at the same moment. I had a sinking feeling deep in my gut as I realised this was the proof I had been looking for; Suzie was stalking this guy. The nausea came next with the realisation that this was all my fault. I had given Suzie the Glove and then left her to it, never checking properly what it might be doing to her. Finally there was fear that if I didn't act fast she was going to going to kill this guy in front of me. It was that final realisation that sparked me into action.

"Suzie!" I yelled, striding fast towards her, ignoring the rain running down my face and finding the gap at my collar to get down inside my greatcoat. I didn't want to run at her in case it prompted her to use the knife.

She faltered and turned, as did the guy. If I'd hoped my presence would bring her to her senses I was mistaken. She grimaced, her face pulled into a grotesque parody of a normal smile, and whipped back to face the guy who just stood there gormlessly, a metre or so in front of her. She took a step towards him and the knife was brought up in a classic thrust through the stomach, under the ribcage and into the heart. But it didn't connect. I threw myself at her and wrenched her to the side. We fell in a heap on the filthy, sodden ground and rolled over ending up in a puddle.

"Run!" I yelled at the bloke still standing like an idiot in the middle of the lane.

I glimpsed him move off before Suzie aimed the knife for my heart but found my left forearm instead. The blade slashed through clothes, flesh, veins, tendon and muscle to find the bone. The pain was excruciating but I didn't let her go. She must have been expecting me to react to the wound, to rear back and release her, maybe even try and stem the flow of blood, but I had died too many times to be affected in that way. My left arm was all but useless but I was marginally on top of her and used my greater weight and height to pin her down beneath me. I caught her wrist and dug my fingers into tender flesh until she released the knife.

"Let me go!" she hissed, reaching with her other hand to claw at my face. She scratched like a cat and I felt skin tear around my eye and the warm oozing of blood. "Get off me!"

With the knife a safe distance away, I ignored her writhing and the repeated thumps to the side of my head and brought her right wrist towards my left and managed to snag it. We both had one hand free and she was fighting me all the time. One well-aimed blow landed just behind my ear and my head rang with the impact. I had taught her unarmed combat and knew just what she could do to me unless I overpowered her completely and quickly. Now straddling her, I wedged my left arm against her windpipe and pressed hard, forcing her head back. With my right hand I scrabbled in a pocket for the universal sedative I always carried. She was choking, her face going red as she fought for breath, but I didn't let up. I injected the sedative into one of the bulging veins in her neck and waited. Five seconds later she went limp. I waited another ten before I completely relaxed the pressure on her throat and eased back into a sitting position, still straddling her.

It was done. Suzie was not a danger - for now.

My breathing slowed and I took a moment to check my arm. The blood was still pouring out so I took the belt of my greatcoat and wrapped it round the wound, over the sleeve, not so much as a bandage, more to keep the flesh together as it mended. I got off her and sat on the ground, the shock of blood loss and what she had become hitting me hard. Tears ran down my face, lost amid the continuing and relentless rain. I had lost a good friend and colleague this night all through my own stupidity and blindness. Someone clearing their throat not far away made me look up quickly. The boy was back.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a Welsh accent. He stared at Suzie as she lay in the puddle. "Is she … dead?"

"No, just unconscious. You shouldn't be here." I levered myself up using my good right arm.

"She attacked me." There was amazement in his voice, as if he couldn't believe it. But Suzie had come at with him a knife, he couldn't have missed that.

"That's right. But we were watching for her. Now, you get off wherever you were going. No need to be bothered about this."

He took a pace or two away but then stopped, looking from Suzie to me. "Don't you need a statement? Thought police always needed statements."

This was not going to be as easy as I had hoped. If he was thinking of statements and enquiries he could become a problem. "I was going to leave it until tomorrow but if you have time …" I left the question hanging.

"Yes. I'd rather do it now. I was on my way home anyway. My name's John Tucker by the way." He smiled slightly and stood with his hands in his pockets looking at me boyishly. At any other time I might have been tempted but not then.

"Captain Jack Harkness. My car's round the corner. Let's get her inside and I can drive you home as we talk."

With Suzie in a fireman's lift over my shoulder and the knife safe in a pocket, we walked back out of the lanes and onto the main road where I'd left the SUV. I put Suzie in the back, discreetly manacling her hands and feet, and then let him in the front passenger seat alongside me. It wasn't until I was sitting inside that I realised how wet I was. The rain had soaked through the greatcoat in places and I was wet to the skin. The wet was also stinging against the wound in my arm which was already tingling as it repaired itself. Wishing for a long hot shower, instead I drove to Tucker's home in Adamstown listening as he told me what he remembered of the encounter with Suzie. It wasn't much but he had seen too much to be allowed to remember. At his place, I made him a cup of tea – great tea drinkers, the Welsh – and dropped Retcon in it. Fifteen minutes later, he was sleeping peacefully in an armchair.

The drive to the base took twenty minutes or so and I went slowly, numb with cold as well as with the events of the night. In the garage, I stood, still dripping water, and looked at Suzie lying in the boot of the SUV. How had it come to this? It was such a waste. Hefting her over my shoulder once more I walked into the Hub to see Ianto standing by the heap of Cyber equipment, the tarpaulin pulled back. My temper got the better of me.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" I shouted. "Leave that alone!"

He jumped like a scalded cat and turned to look at me, guilt all over his face before his normal impassive mask returned. "What's happened?"

"Plenty! Call Tosh and Owen and get them in here. Now!" I stormed past him to the vaults. Suzie was going into the cells, she had to be secured until I'd worked out what to do with her.

"Want me to call Suzie too?" he asked, not having recognised her inert body.

"Hardly! And tell them that if they've taken any artefacts out of the Hub I want them back." I was almost at the archway. "Now, Ianto!"

I selected a cell in an otherwise empty block and put Suzie on the shelf-bed. She would be coming round soon so I quickly removed the manacles and frisked her, taking her comms earpiece, mobile, keys, purse, credit cards, Torchwood swipe card and even a packet of mints before stepping back. Water was dripping off her onto the floor; she was as wet as me. I found a couple of blankets and chucked them in the cell for when she woke up before shutting and securing the door, adding an extra level of security. After staring at her for a few minutes, still not understanding how things had come to this pass, I finally walked back up the steps to the main area of the Hub. Ianto was hovering in the work area looking out for me.

"The others are on their way, sir," he reported. He glanced at my soaked greatcoat and general muckiness but didn't comment. Not surprising after the way I'd shouted at him.

"I need to change and shower."

I dragged tired feet into the office and tried to remove the greatcoat before remembering all the things I'd stuffed in the pockets and the belt wrapped round my arm. It defeated me and I stood wondering how to get it off. Ianto came up beside me and started to empty the pockets. If he was surprised by what he found he didn't say so. Everything, including the knife, went on my desk. Next he unwound the belt, biting his lip when he saw the slash in the sleeve, and then eased the coat from my shoulders. I was shivering now, the wet and cold was finally getting to me.

"Go and shower, sir. I'll bring some clean clothes from your quarters."

I went and once in the bathroom stripped off my sodden clothes and stood under the hot water. It was wonderful. The heat permeated my body and the sweet smelling soap took away the odours of that filthy alley. I felt human again when I stepped out of the shower to find Ianto arranging my clothes. The underwear had been put on the radiator and was warm to my skin. He handed me socks and trousers and actually bent down to tie up my boots. I could have done it myself but it would have taken awhile as my arm hadn't fully healed and the fingers didn't work as they should.

"I brought antiseptic, sir, if you need it." He didn't meet my gaze as he held out the small bottle and pad of gauze.

"I'm sorry, Ianto. For yelling at you. You were just … there."

He smiled at me, briefly. "Do you need this, sir?"

"May as well." He dabbed at the jagged gash on my arm that was already healing and no longer bleeding. When he was done, I stopped him moving away by putting my good hand on his arm. "Tell me we're okay, Ianto."

"We're okay."

He smiled again before putting the antiseptic aside and helping me into a T-shirt and then a deep blue shirt over that. With the sleeves rolled down no one could see I'd been injured; the scratches to my face were healed too. I added a waistcoat over the top to keep me warm. We made it back to the work area before Owen and Tosh arrived. They came in together; I assume they'd met as they parked their cars.

"What's the bleeding emergency, Jack?" demanded Owen. "I'd not even got home!" He glared at me, standing with arms crossed over his chest not bothering to remove his jacket.

"There hasn't been a Rift opening," added Tosh, sitting at her PC still wearing her leather jacket and opening up the screens. I don't know what she thought she'd find; her laptop and PDA had access to all the same information.

"I caught the killer of those two women," I began.

"So what? That's bloody police business, Jack, nothing to do with us!" interrupted Owen.

"It was Suzie. Our Suzie."

The words created a ripple effect. Beside me, Ianto started and gave a little gasp still not having realised that it was her that I'd locked in the cells. Toshiko's hands stopped in midair and she stared at me, her eyes wide and horror-struck. Owen's face lost all trace of colour and he groped for the sofa and sat down. None of them said a word for two or three minutes. In a way I was relieved, it meant they had not known what she was doing either. I was not alone in missing all the signs.

"You're … you're sure?" asked Owen in a hoarse whisper. One look at my face must have given him the answer. "Shit!" He buried his face in his hands.

"But how? Why?" asked Toshiko in a disbelieving whisper. Ianto said nothing, just reached for Owen's desk chair and sat down, his face mirroring his shock.

It was time to build up my team again, to rally them to face the next few days. I never felt less like doing anything of the sort. "She was affected by that damned Glove. I don't know how – that's something we have to find out – but I know it happened. In her obsession with it she took it out of the Hub and used it at home. When she needed humans to test it on … she killed them."

"Just when you think the job can't get any crappier." Surprisingly this came from Toshiko, not known for using bad language.

"How did you find out?" asked Ianto. "When?"

"It was a lot of little things," I replied. "Her mood swings over the past few weeks mostly, I suppose. I put it all together over the past couple of days. But I got the proof tonight." I moved and sat on the sofa beside Owen. "And I got that courtesy of a policewoman who wasn't afraid to challenge me." Without that woman, Gwen Cooper, I'd never have looked into the police investigation and seen the picture of the knife.

"What's happened to her, to Suzie?" asked Owen, looking up. "Is she …" He didn't complete the question but I knew what he had been going to say.

"She's in the cells, probably coming round by now. That's one of the reasons I needed you all in." This was where I had to give them something to do, to get them focussed on the future not the past. "Tosh, most important, I want all our security codes, passwords and protocols changed and all Suzie's access cancelled. We need new swipe cards for everyone. Then go through everything Suzie's done on the computers over the past month, no, make that two months. Make sure she hasn't left us any little surprises."

Toshiko had turned back to her screens and brought up a picture of Suzie in her cell. She was conscious and huddled in the blankets I'd left for her, a pile of discarded, wet clothing on the floor at her feet. She looked cold and miserable – as she should. Owen and Ianto were also looking at the screen and I could feel another wave of shock coming from all of them. I suppose seeing her incarcerated was going to be hard for them, something to bear in mind over the next few days.

"Tosh, you hear me!?" I prompted.

She jumped a little and looked over her shoulder at me. "Yes, sorry. I'll get on it now."

"Good. And when I say change everything, I do mean everything. Even the most innocuous codes. Okay?"

"Okay." Toshiko's face took on a resolute expression and she turned back to the PC.

"Owen, delve into her background. Find out everything you can that might help us in finding out what happened. Later, I want you to give her a complete physical. We need to know what the Glove did to her."

He was nodding while still looking at the screen. "What are you going to do with her? Long term?" he asked.

"I have no fucking idea." I didn't. I had got this far just reacting to circumstances and hadn't had time to consider future plans. "Ianto, go through her desk, remove and catalogue everything. I'm going to her flat, see if there's anything there. But before we do any of that," I said ominously, "this all got worse because Suzie took the Glove out of the Hub. If you've taken anything I want it on my desk, now!"

I got up and walked to the office. The Glove and knife were there with the meagre personal belongings I'd taken from Suzie. Ianto came in behind me and at my request put the Glove and knife into secure containers and sealed them. The others followed him into the room. Owen put the Valurrian aphrodisiac spray on the desk and Toshiko added the document reader. What either wanted to take those for I have no idea; there's a lot more interesting stuff lying around. I said nothing, just nodded and sent them back to work.

There was a lot to be done and none of us were in the best frame of mind to do it. It had truly been a crappy day.


	53. Chapter 53

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Three

The Hub was quiet as the other three got on with the tasks I'd assigned them. I'd delayed going to Suzie's flat until I was sure they were settled and after half an hour I could still sense their unease. I couldn't leave them like this. Ianto had made us coffee and I put my now empty mug on the desk and stared out of the glass wall. Toshiko and Owen were sat at their desks using their PCs to get on with their work. They were unnaturally quiet and I missed the chat and banter that would normally be the background to such activity. No one had put any music on either. Turning my head, I saw Ianto at Suzie's desk methodically taking all the items and placing them in boxes according to type; artefacts in one, paperwork in another and personal possessions in yet another. I'd remembered where I'd found him when I'd come back to the Hub and decided to start with him.

He looked up and noticed me staring at him, raising his eyebrows in silent question. I beckoned him to join me and he left his task – with some relief, I think – and entered the office the back way. "You wanted me, sir?" he asked.

"Sit down." He sat. "Ianto, what were you doing earlier, when I came in?" I gestured towards the pile of Cyber-equipment that still awaited sorting.

He ran a finger over the crease in his trousers, not looking at me. "Facing my fears. I can't keep running away." He glanced up then and met my gaze. "I was only looking."

"Did it help?"

"A bit. I'd only just started when you came back with …" his voice tailed off and he took a deep breath.

"And how are you feeling about that, about Suzie?"

"I can't believe it. I mean, I believe you but … It seems so incredible. She helped me settle in here. I liked her."

"We all liked her. I still do." I did. She had been the first one I'd recruited to join me when I'd been left on my own and she had helped build the team. I had depended on her for so much and I was already missing her.

"Jack," he looked round and lowered his voice when he saw the office door was open, "did you die tonight?"

"No," I replied, smiling. "Just got slashed. And wet!"

"I wondered." He paused and smiled at me. Maybe that had been preying on his mind as much as Suzie's aberrant behaviour. "I'd better get on."

"One thing, I don't want you in the cells alone with her. Ask me before you go down there." He nodded agreement. "Right, you carry on. Would you ask Owen to come in?"

"Of course." He stood up, took my coffee mug and went out into the work area. He spoke to Owen as he collected his empty mug.

"What is it, Jack?" asked Owen, coming into the office.

"I just wanted to check how you were. It's a lot to take in." I watched him. Owen was hard to predict and I wasn't sure whether he'd tell me to go to hell, punch the wall or sit down and talk. Probably all three.

"Playing shrink, are we? I don't need it, Jack. Suzie's a murderer. Got it." He stood defiantly, arms crossed.

"You were close to her, had an affair. I thought it might …"

"You slept with her too! And were closer to her than the rest of us! It's you that ought to be seeing a shrink!"

"I'm going to." That shut him up, quite took the wind out of his sails. Duncan Strachan was coming in a couple of days to see Ianto and I planned to get him to talk to all of us as well as help us with Suzie. "Now, how are you really feeling about all this?" I leant forward, arms resting on the desk.

He didn't say anything for a moment or two, staring at a spot above my head, then let out a deep breath. "Angry. Like Tosh said, this job's fucking bad enough, things we see, things we have to do, without stuff like this!" He turned suddenly and punched the side of the four drawer filing cabinet leaving a fist-sized dent.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah." He smiled a little before grimacing, rubbing his knuckles and sitting down. "You going to talk to Strachan?"

"Uh huh. I'll call him in the morning." It was coming up to midnight on Sunday and I didn't think Duncan would appreciate being woken up. "I thought he could advise us about Suzie too."

"Good idea. I suppose you're going to make us all talk to him?" He waited as I nodded. "Thought so. Maybe it's not such a bad idea." This was quite an admission from Owen who rarely talked to anyone about his feelings.

"I'll set it up. And Owen," I fixed him with a stare, wanting him to understand how serious I was, "I'm going to be relying on you. We're down to three operatives, and Ianto as backup. It's not a lot if we have another week like this last one. I need to know you'll be there for me and the team."

"I will be." I believed him and smiled in acknowledgement and thanks as he stood to leave. "One thing. I've been watching … her. She must be freezing down there. Can't we at least give her some clothes?"

I followed his gaze to the PC screen which I had open. It showed Suzie Costello sitting on the shelf-bed with her legs curled up underneath her. The blankets can't have been keeping her very warm, especially as she'd been soaking wet when I'd put her in there. "All right. Grab some stuff from her locker, in fact you might as well empty it, and then we'll go down together."

"I can manage - "

"I'm sure you can," I cut in, "but no one goes to see her without my permission. And no one goes alone."

"Yeah. Right."

"Ask Tosh to come in," I called after him as he left the office.

After passing on the message to Toshiko, Owen headed down to the bathroom where the others had lockers with spare clothes. I was thinking that we ought to take Suzie a drink and maybe some food, a bit surprised Ianto hadn't already suggested it, and realised I was hungry myself. I stood up as Toshiko entered the office.

"You wanted me, Jack?" she asked.

"Yeah, take a seat. You hungry?"

"Umm, maybe a little. And as this is going to an all nighter …"

I went out and called across the Hub. "Ianto, how about getting some food? Something hot."

He looked up and thought for a moment. "I could do soup and sandwiches. Or would you prefer pizza?"

"Soup sounds great. I'd like to eat in … twenty minutes or so? And make enough for Suzie." He nodded and headed to the kitchen while I went back into the office. "Sorry, Tosh. I just wanted a word, to check how you were doing." I perched on the desk beside her and smiled encouragingly.

"I've cancelled all Suzie's access," she replied, "and started a diagnostic on her computer usage. I'm part way through changing all the other security codes; I did the ones in the vaults first."

"That's good, but it's not what I meant. How are you feeling, Tosh?"

She looked down at her hands which were clasped tight in her lap. "Let down." Her voice trembled. "How could she do this, Jack? How could she kill people?" She was gazing at me, tears in her eyes.

Reaching a hand to her shoulder, I squeezed reassuringly. "I'm certain it was the Glove. Something, I don't know what, affected her when she used it. I was so busy with other things I didn't notice. Not in time. She wouldn't have done it otherwise."

"I don't know. I feel like I never knew her, not if she could do this. I thought she was my friend, Jack. Well, as good a friend as you can have in this place."

"Hey, we're all your friends. Look, I'm going to get Duncan Strachan to come in. You remember him? I think it would help if we all talked to him. I know I'm going to and Owen and Ianto have signed up as well. How about it?"

"Yes, I'd like that. Thanks." She smiled then, a bit weakly but it was a start. "I suppose my day off tomorrow is cancelled."

"Oh God, I'd forgotten about that. Do you mind?"

"No. I was only going to do some shopping and clean the oven. Not sure why, I hardly ever cook." She smiled more widely before it faded. "We're going to be a bit pushed, aren't we? Without her."

"Yes, we are. And a lot of the extra will fall on your shoulders, all the computer analyses and the artefacts. I'll do what I can but we'll just have to muddle through for now."

"I don't mind. I'd rather be busy, less time to think about … about it. And you can't take on everything; you need a break sometimes too."

"You could always give me dinner one night, use that oven of yours," I joked.

"Okay. You and Ianto. And Owen if he wants. It's a date for the first night we're free."

"Looking forward to it." I saw Owen come back to his desk carrying a large box with a bundle of clothing on top. "One more thing. I'll tell you the same as I've told the others. I don't want you going to see Suzie without clearing it with me first, and you're not to go on your own. Understood?"

"I have no intention of going down there!" she snapped back, a sign of how upset she was. "Sorry."

"It's all right." I stood, ready to go and join Owen and make my first visit to see Suzie. I was not looking forward to it but it had to be done. Toshiko stood as well and hesitated before leaving. "What is it?" I asked.

"Much as I hate what she's done to us, and I do, I hope you won't give her to UNIT. I wouldn't want anyone to … to go through that."

I grabbed her in a rough hug. Toshiko's own experiences of the UNIT detention centres had put me off using them for any but the most undeserving. "I hadn't thought that far ahead, Tosh, but I promise I won't do that."

"Thanks."

I let her go and followed her to the work area. Owen looked up and stood, ready to go down to the cells. Ianto was putting out cutlery and bottles of water on the coffee table ready for our supper.

"Owen and I are going to take some clothes to Suzie," I announced. "Tosh, keep an eye on the CCTV. Anything untoward happens, lock them down until it's safe. Ianto, come down in five minutes with some water and food but don't include cutlery or anything else sharp. Wait in the corridor until Owen comes out. Okay, everyone?"

"Do you think she's that dangerous?" asked Toshiko.

"I'm taking no chances. Until all the security protocols are changed, none of you do either. Just remember that Suzie knows everything we do about how this place works and, more importantly, about us. She knows how to press all our buttons."

They seemed to understand the seriousness of the position, thank goodness. It's always a problem when one of our own turns rogue. Petroch Sullivan had been one of those. A lovely guy until he'd decided to use a Sycorax blaster to take out an armoured car and help himself to the half a million pounds inside. It had been a bitch to catch him and even worse to have him in the cells for weeks. I made my mind up there and then that Suzie was not going to be with us that long. A few days at most. Any longer and she'd undermine what little morale we had left. I hoped we'd be able to find out what had caused her changed behaviour and rectify it. I'd not have her back on the team, of course, but at least we could then Retcon her and let her loose.

The walk down to the cells was conducted in silence. I was armed with my Webley, the new security codes and a new swipe card. Owen was unarmed, carrying just the bundle of clothes which we had gone through to make sure they held nothing that she could use to hurt us or herself. We paused outside the door to the block before entering the code.

"Remember, don't get drawn into conversation. You just give her the clothes and a visual check for injuries. Once she's dressed, you get the food from Ianto." I didn't want the boy in the cells with her; Owen and I had had a lot more experience of this sort of thing. "Okay?"

"Let's just get on with it," he growled.

I punched in the new code and the door opened. Suzie was in the middle cell and looked up as we approached. She was still huddled in the blankets. Her hair was damp but otherwise it looked like she was dry enough. Her discarded clothes were by the door.

"Well, if it isn't fearless Jack and his sidekick, Owen. Come to stare at the caged beast, have you, boys?" she taunted, glaring at us.

"We've got some clothes for you. Stand up and get to the back of the cell and Owen will bring them in," I said, refusing to be drawn into debate. "Are you hurt?"

"Sure I am. Hurt that you could get things so wrong, Jack. I've done nothing, I don't deserve to be treated like this." She had swung her long, shapely legs to the ground and stood up.

"You're a bloody murderer!" hissed Owen, unable to contain himself.

"Owen," I warned and he bit his lip, looking away from her.

"Who says so, Owen? Jack?" She had moved to the front of the cell and was standing just the other side of the door. "It's all lies, Owen. You know me, how can you possibly think that I'd do anything like that?" I have to admit, it sounded convincing. "I'm not a murderer."

"Move back, Suzie," I said, keeping my voice level and flat. It was the only way to deal with her.

"Well, Owen?" she continued, taking three paces backwards until she was at the rear of the cell. "Who are you going to believe?"

"Jack every time," he snarled.

"Owen!" I made the one word an order. I was reluctant to let him in the cell but I didn't trust him to shoot if she threatened us whereas I would have no such hesitation. She was my friend and colleague, an ex-lover, but I would kill her if she gave me cause. "Drop the blankets, Suzie, and stand with arms outstretched then turn right round, slowly." I wanted to be sure she hadn't got a weapon from somewhere.

With a flourish, she let the blankets fall to the floor and stood in bra and pants as ordered. There was wicked grin on her face. "Remember this, boys? Remember what it was like to fuck me?" As she turned round on the spot I was reminded of the many times we'd shagged and the pleasure it had given me. I suspect Owen was too.

I drew the Webley before stepping forward and using the new swipe card to open the door. It swung open and I stood and aimed the gun at her, keeping a clear field of fire as Owen stepped in and put the clothes on the shelf-bed. He stooped and picked up the discarded ones, chucking them out.

Suzie was not quiet during this. She continued to protest her innocence but I shut my ears to it. Owen retreated back out of the cell after assuring himself she was not injured and I locked the door. He went into the corridor and brought in a tray of food: soup in a polystyrene cup, a round of sandwiches on a paper plate and a bottle of water. No cutlery, nothing she could use as a weapon. He pushed it through the slot.

"Don't I get any coffee?" she demanded. She had made no move to get dressed.

"No." I stepped up to the cell door. "You get nothing, Suzie, because you betrayed my trust. You betrayed us all."

"It was the Glove, Jack," she said, her voice ringing with emotion. "That's why I did it. I needed the practice so I could understand it. It was the only good thing to ever come through the Rift." She was standing closer and I could see the tears in her eyes. "Shit, that's all that ever lands on Cardiff, but it didn't matter if once, just once in a while, something good like the Glove came through. Say you understand, Jack. Say it, please!"

"I can't because I don't. You murdered innocent people, Suzie, people who had done you no harm. I'll never understand how you could do that." Motioning Owen before me, I turned and left the cells making sure the block was secure behind me.

That had been even worse than I had expected.


	54. Chapter 54

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Four

Owen and I walked up from the cells in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. In the work area, Ianto had laid out a large plate of sandwiches and the shortbread Toshiko had brought back from Glasgow. I realised it was only the day before – Saturday – that she'd brought it in; it seemed an age ago. I assume Ianto had been keeping watch for our return because he emerged from the kitchen with a large tureen of steaming vegetable soup which he placed on the table before ladling generous portions into large mugs.

No one spoke as we ate. Toshiko and Owen sat at their desks while Ianto and I were on the sofa. The only sound was Owen's slurping; he's always been a noisy eater. I thought of starting a conversation but couldn't think of anything to say, seemed the others couldn't either. We couldn't go on like this forever but for now I felt it best to let them assimilate what had happened in their own way.

"Anyone want that last sandwich?" I asked, hoping no one did. Our lunch at Bellini's had been a long time ago and I was hungry, besides I hated seeing food go to waste. My hand was already stretched towards the plate when Owen spoke up.

"Yeah, actually."

"I'll cut it in half then you can share it," said Ianto matching actions to words. He's good at ensuring peace in our little team. I took my half of the sandwich – tuna – and bit into it.

"Why did she say she hadn't killed those people then admit it?" asked Toshiko out of the blue. She looked troubled by what she had witnessed through the CCTV link; Suzie's betrayal was hitting her hard. It would be Toshiko's way to try and make sense of it, to find an explanation for the change in her colleague.

"I don't know. But I'm hoping it's a good sign," I replied, swallowing my mouthful of tuna and washing it down with the last of the water.

"Don't bank on it," put in Owen. He looked angry, his way of coping. "More likely the signs of psychosis or paranoia. Or both."

"Thanks for those cheering words." I smiled wryly to show I wasn't disagreeing with him. I leant against the back of the sofa, resting my head and closing my eyes. "I'm hoping Duncan Strachan will help us get to the bottom of Suzie's behaviour."

We were quiet again. With my eyes still closed, I felt Ianto shift beside me and stand up and then heard the gentle clink of mugs being stacked on the tray. He'd not said much so far this evening and I hoped the situation wouldn't worsen his PTSD. The next few days were going to be difficult for all of us and it was my job to be there for each of them, to support them in whatever way was necessary. After all, I was the one who had got us into this mess by leaving Suzie to use the Glove unsupervised. I should have spotted her obsession and realised what it was doing to her.

I heard Ianto's footsteps as he walked to the kitchen with the tray and the gentle tapping of keys on Toshiko's keyboard. Both sounds epitomised the people who made them and I was smiling when I opened my eyes and sat up again. This was no time for sleep, not that I needed any. But the others probably did. It was 2:10am on Monday morning; they would soon have been up for twenty four hours. I waited until Ianto returned for the remaining supper things before speaking.

"I'm going to check out Suzie's flat shortly, make sure she's not taken anything else out of here, and seal it. Do any of you need me before I go?"

"I'm finding nothing about her background," replied Owen immediately, swinging his chair round. "I've gone through all we have on file and the bits Ianto found in the desk and basically it's bugger all. Maybe there's more at the flat; photos, documents, stuff like that."

"I'll check. Anything else?"

"I've activated the cell scanners to start an analysis but there's not much more I can do right now."

"In that case, while I don't want you go home, get some sleep if you can. Same goes for you, Ianto. I see you've finished the desk." Four large boxes were placed neatly on the desk where the muddle that had been Suzie's workspace had been.

"I've emptied it but I've still got to sort the stuff properly and record it," he told me. "There's some artefacts I don't recognise." His way of coping would be attempt to stamp order onto chaos.

"That can wait 'til the morning. Get a few hours sleep, you need it." He nodded reluctant acceptance. "Tosh, sorry, but I really need you to complete the security changes."

"I know. It's coming on but it'll take another four or five hours to finish." She smiled. "I'll be okay. I can keep an eye on things while you're out and the others get some rest."

"I'll crash on the sofa," volunteered Owen. "Be handy if she needs me."

"Thanks. Anything on the Rift predictor?" I asked, standing up and moving towards the office.

"An opening around eleven. Nothing until then," reported Toshiko having turned to double check the screen.

"Good. I won't be long, a couple of hours at most."

In the office, Ianto was waiting with the greatcoat held out for me to slip on. I'm not sure where he'd found the time but the worst excesses of the night had been brushed off and it had been partly dried out on the radiator. Only the gash in the sleeve remained as a stark reminder of what had happened in the alley a bare four hours earlier. I shut the door behind me before donning the coat.

"Ianto, make sure you get some rest. We're going to be stretched over the next few days and I need to know you'll be there to support us." I was standing in front of him now, my hands on his arms and looking into his eyes.

"I will, sir. I'll load the dishwasher then go downstairs." He smiled, one of those he reserves for our private moments.

"Thank you." I was still wearing my Webley and with my mobile and Suzie's keys I was set. Giving him a peck on the lips, I left the office. "I'll leave you the SUV and pick up Suzie's car. Call if you need me. I mean that!"

"I will," promised Toshiko as Owen groaned and rolled his eyes at my insistence. He was sitting on the sofa removing his boots; a pillow and throw were ready for his makeshift bed.

"Make sure you do. Won't be long."

The rain had cleared and the city smelt fresh after the downpour. I headed out of the Plass and up James Street heading for the bridge. It would not take long to walk to Suzie's, twenty to thirty minutes maybe, and I was looking forward to it. The cool air cleared my head and I let my mind wander. A few late clubbers passed me as I strode along and there was some traffic but mostly it was quiet. The half moon was reflected in the puddles and wet pavements and I thought of The Doctor, out there somewhere no doubt saving someone in trouble. I envied him his freedom to travel at will, not for him the responsibilities of a team that relied on him; he abandoned his companions whenever and wherever the fancy took him. I should know. I wondered what poor sap was travelling with him now and if he or she knew they would be dumped.

I stopped on the bridge over the Taff and leant on the parapet, gazing down into the swiftly running water below. Then I looked over the city before me, to the new housing estates and the city centre with the cranes and other paraphernalia of development obscuring the skyline. I would miss this place when it was time to leave and I would miss my team. The loss of Suzie meant I'd have to work harder to ensure it was strong enough to survive without me. I'd been relying on her to take over as leader and that wouldn't happen now. Should I appoint a new second in command? Not yet, perhaps, but soon. Owen was the logical choice but he was far from reliable while Toshiko did not have the personality or will to lead. One of them would have to bite the bullet and be trained up for the role. And longer term we needed another member of the team, someone to take on the huge number of tasks Suzie had done so effortlessly. I groaned as I realised the budget was going to fall to me again. If anything made me anxious for The Doctor to appear as soon as possible it was the thought of that monthly purgatory.

Walking on, I arrived at Corporation Road and looked around for Suzie's car, a Toyota Rav 4; practical and yet fun to drive. I spotted it parked fifty metres or so down the road. Leaving that until later, I went into the old house that had been converted into flats back in the sixties and climbed to the top floor and let myself in. The place was quiet, just the humming of appliances in the background. Work had been done on the flat in recent years and it was now a modern, open-plan space. A compact kitchen was on my right with the living area on the left, near the large windows which led onto a small rooftop deck with a view over the river. Beyond the kitchen was the sole bedroom and the bathroom.

It took me only half an hour to realise that Suzie's home held little more personal information about her than had the Hub. Sitting at the small table which held her laptop, I found two photographs, snaps really; one of her as a child with her hair in bunches – cute – and another with an older man I assumed was her father. The latter photo looked strange, like it was put together out of two separate images. I pocketed both of them along with her passport and a few financial documents. The bedroom was as neat and tidy as the other room and I paused, looking down at the bed where we had made love once, the only other time I had been in the flat. She'd been drunk or I'm sure I'd never have been invited here; our other couplings had been in the Hub. After thoroughly scanning the place, I was confident there were no other pieces of alien technology here and left. Walking down the stairs, carrying her laptop, I wondered how a thirty four year old woman could give away so little of herself. I had worked with her for nearly five years, slept with her, gone through her possessions and yet she was still a mystery. One I had to solve if I was to help her.

Driving the Rav 4 was like being in a mini-SUV without the added Torchwood technology. I enjoyed the novelty and took it for a little spin out on the by-pass. At four on a Monday morning the roads were clear and I opened her up to see what she could do before heading back to the Bay and Mermaid Quay. I was close to the entrance to the car park when the comms crackled into life.

"_Jack, get back here,"_ came Toshiko's voice. _"She's hanged herself!"_

"What!? Tosh, what's happened?" I swung the car through the entrance and fumed at the seconds it took for the barrier to rise.

"_She's hanged herself. In the cell. Owen's gone down to help." _

"He mustn't go down alone!" I shouted, speeding down the ramps to our garage. "It could be a trap."

"_I know, Ianto's gone too."_ Why Ianto, I wondered, he was supposed to be asleep in his bed. _"They're just getting into the vaults." _

"I'm almost at the garage, Tosh, tell them to wait until I get there." I sped round the last corner with a squealing of rubber and punched in the code to raise the final barrier, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I waited for it to open.

"_We can't,"_ came Owen's voice, _"she could die."_

"Owen, just wait!" I ordered but I knew even then that he wouldn't. He was too good a doctor to hold back when someone was in danger and too reckless to heed my warning. I raced into the garage and abandoned the car near the door, blocking in the other cars and the SUV. I really didn't care. "What's happening!?" I demanded, jumping from the car and inserting the code in the lock. It didn't work. Of course it didn't, Toshiko had changed it! "Damn! Tosh, what's the new code?" I banged on the shut door in frustration. "Tosh!"

"_I'll open it for you."_

There was a click and I pulled the door open and was through. It's only a short passage to the door into the Hub but it felt like miles. I ran along it and fell through the door, turning left by grabbing hold of the railing and swinging round and up the steps to the work area. No one was there.

"Tosh!"

"She's not dead!" came from across the Hub. I looked up and saw Toshiko emerge from the armoury, Glock in hand. "It was a trap!" she shouted again before heading through the archway to the vaults. What the hell was going on!?

Taking a moment, I checked the CCTV on Toshiko's screens and saw Owen crumpled in a corner of the cell and Suzie advancing slowly on Ianto who had his back to the wall facing the cell that had recently held our erstwhile colleague. The boy was holding a gun in the standard two-handed, stiff-armed grip and it was trained on Suzie but even from this angle I could see it wavering as he stood, paralysed by fear.

"Fire, Ianto!" I shouted into the comms but it had no effect. He stayed, rooted to the spot, as Suzie took another pace and then another until she was close enough to reach out and … snatch the gun from his unresisting grasp. Shit!

I had to get down there. I sprinted for the archway, almost falling head over heels down the steps. Pounding along the corridors I imagined what was happening, could see Suzie place the gun to Ianto's head and fire. She wouldn't hesitate to kill a colleague, not now. What was one more death to her? A hell of a lot to me, I thought as I ran. This was Ianto and I couldn't bear the thought of him lying dead. He was young, he had so much promise, he deserved to live a long and happy life. I did not want to lose him like I had lost all the others over the years. Rounding the last corner I saw Toshiko at the door to the cell block. She had her ear to the door, trying to hear what was happening inside. As I came up beside her she started back, the report of the gun loud to both of us.

Her appalled yet determined gaze met mine. "They've got her," she said with feeling.

"Suzie got the gun off Ianto," I told her brutally, pushing her aside and entering the code into the door. In my agitation, I entered the old code and cursed as I had to wait for it to recycle before I could try again. This time I got it right and the door swung inwards.

With my Webley in my hand I stood in the doorway, the smell of gunfire and blood wafting out to me. Searching the space before me, I saw Owen with his back to me crouched over Ianto who was sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall and presumably cradled in Owen's arms. I was too late, too late to save another lover from death. The grief took me hard, harder than I had expected it to. I had only known Ianto for a few weeks and yet he had become so very important to me in that short time, so important that I didn't register what was missing.

"Where's Suzie?" hissed Toshiko from behind me. She had her gun in her outstretched hands, eyes searching the three cells, only one of which we could see into.

Owen looked over his shoulder at us then, his face bloody from a wound on the temple and tear-streaked. He gestured with his head to the middle cell before turning back to Ianto who was still hidden from my view; I could only see his jeans-clad legs.

Moving into the block, slowly, I looked into the middle cell, the one we'd used for Suzie. She was lying on the floor, a huge hole under her chin where the bullet had entered. Blood and brain matter were spattered over the wall, the shelf-bed and the floor under her; evidence of the bullet's exit from the top of her head. She was dead. But how? The gun lay a metre or so away from her right hand – suicide? Why? Why kill Ianto then herself? Why not make her escape while she could? It made no sense whatsoever. Still staring at her, I holstered my Webley, unwilling to turn and look at Ianto.

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_Oh I am so wicked! _

_Ianto dead? How will Jack cope? The next chapter will reveal all and I'll post it earlier if you leave some reviews (hint hint) - Jay_


	55. Chapter 55

_Thank you so much for the reviews - over 510 now, wow! - and here is your reward, the next chapter of the story. How is Ianto?_

_

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_

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Five

"Ianto, are you okay?"

I heard Toshiko's words and spun round to tell her off. How could he possibly be okay!? And I saw him, struggling out of Owen's arms, trying to stand up, all the while with his gaze trained on me. He was alive! Suzie hadn't shot him!

"I'm sorry, sir," he said in those beautiful Welsh vowels. "I -"

I grabbed him and hugged him tight, ignoring the others and Suzie's dead body behind me. Ianto was alive, that was all that mattered. I kissed him hard and then crushed him into a hug once more. He tried to say something but gave up, holding onto me as fiercely as I was holding him. All I could think about was how close I had come to losing him and the emptiness I had felt when I'd imagined him gone. Over his shoulder, I saw Toshiko kneel by Owen with her hand on his shoulder. She clearly wanted to hold him as I was holding Ianto and, with a little sigh, Owen gave in and leaned into her, his head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms round him, lightly so as not to scare him away, and rested her cheek on the top of his head. I was so pleased for her and when she looked my way, we exchanged smiles and enjoyed a brief respite from the pressures of Torchwood.

But the moment couldn't last. Suzie was dead, Owen was injured - although not badly - and I guessed Ianto was even more traumatised. I had work to do. Easing Ianto out of my embrace, I kept an arm around his waist and looked down at Suzie's dead body. It could only have been suicide, I decided, but why? How?

"What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice low and my tone even. Whatever had gone on couldn't be undone and making accusations would not help.

Owen looked up, moving out of Toshiko's arms without looking at her; embarrassed I suppose. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have rushed down here," he began, wiping at his face where tear streaks still marked his cheeks.

"Jack, he's been hurt," interrupted Toshiko forcefully. She shot a glance into the cell at Suzie. "And do we have to do this here?"

"You're right. Help him to the med bay. Ianto, you go with them."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, his hand clutching mine as I let my arm drop from his waist. His voice wasn't too steady either.

"I won't be long. Just want to make her decent."

They reluctantly left the cell block, Toshiko and Ianto on either side of Owen who was slightly woozy from the head wound. When the door closed behind them I turned to look at Suzie. This was such a waste. I bent and picked up the gun, put the safety on and stuck it in a pocket and then crouched down by her head. The wounds were horrific and yet they had not marred her face. If I concentrated, it was as if she was merely lying down and would speak to me. But she wouldn't, not now. She was dead at her own hand and I had to find out how that had occurred. Reaching out, I gently closed her unseeing eyes and then spread a blanket over her head and upper body. She deserved to have her earthly remains cared for but that could wait, the three people upstairs could not.

In the office, I threw my greatcoat onto a chair and returned my Webley to the drawer where it resided when I was in the Hub. The other gun I had put in the armoury on my way past. I rejoined my team in the medical bay. Ianto was perched on the bottom steps while Owen was sitting on the examination table with Toshiko cleaning his head wound. I joined them, stroking a hand over Ianto's hair as I walked past him. "How bad is it?" I asked.

"It's nothing," said Owen. Like all doctors, he's a lousy patient.

"I don't think there's any serious damage," said Toshiko, ignoring the last comment. "The skull seems to be intact."

"Let's check." I found the Bekaran deep-tissue scanner in a drawer and ran it over Owen's head. This is a wonderful piece of equipment and we use it all the time. The display showed that the wound was only skin deep. Head wounds bleed profusely and could lead to concussion but one had to be particularly unlucky for them to be anything more. "You're right. It's quite a deep gash though. I think it needs a couple of stitches."

"Go on then," said Owen with a deep, resigned sigh. "No need for a local."

"Don't be stupid," retorted Toshiko, moving to the drugs cabinet on the side. She reached in and removed a syringe filled with local anaesthetic. "You'd insist on it for the rest of us."

"She's right. Now, how many fingers?" I asked, holding up three in front of Owen.

"Ninety six." I waited. "All right, three," he said finally.

"Better." I accepted the syringe, took it out of its protective packaging and injected it around the wound. "While we wait for that to take effect, tell me what happened after I left tonight." I deliberately turned away from them, going to the basin to wash my hands and then use an antiseptic cleanser.

It was Toshiko who started the tale. "Owen settled on the sofa to get some sleep and I carried on with the security changes. Ianto stopped by for a chat before he went to his room. I got pretty involved with the work and it must have been more than an hour later that I chanced to look at the screen showing Suzie." Toshiko paused then went on. "She was half-on half-off the bed with something round her neck. It looked like she'd hanged herself."

I was back standing before Owen, testing to see if the anaesthetic had taken effect when he carried on the story. "Tosh woke me up. Ow, that hurt." He jerked away from my probing. "Gawd, give it a bit longer."

"Says the man who didn't want a local in the first place," murmured Ianto from behind me. It broke the growing tension and we all smiled, even Owen.

"Yeah, all right, smarty-pants. Anyway, I saw what had happened and went down to the cells," said Owen. "And before you say anything, I know it was stupid. I should have checked the cell's scanners, they'd have shown she was still breathing." He looked disgusted with himself and didn't need me to rub it in.

"I'm not sure I'd have checked either," I ventured. "Go on."

"Right. Well, I wasn't stupid enough to go down there alone. I got Ianto from his room and we went together. He had the gun and covered me."

"Hang on a minute," I said, wanting to clarify a point. "You woke Ianto up?" The area around the wound was numb now and I took the needle and suture from the tray Toshiko held out.

"I wasn't asleep," came from Ianto. "I knew I'd not be able to, so just changed and lay on the bed. I think I'd dozed off but I heard Owen come into the room."

"Okay. Carry on, Owen, and keep still." I was inserting the first stitch of three.

"I am!" he protested. "We got to the cell block and went in. I opened her cell door while Ianto stayed back. I was still convinced Suzie had hanged herself, or tried to, so when she moved and clobbered me it was a total surprise. She pushed me back and I fell, hit me head on the bed and was out of it for a bit." His eyes flickered to the side to where Ianto was sitting. "When I came to, can't have been more than a few minutes later, Suzie had a gun pointed at Ianto."

"I couldn't kill her," said Ianto quietly. I paused what I was doing and looked over at him. he was wringing his hands and staring down at the floor between his feet. "I've never killed anyone and … I knew her, she was … she was a friend. I'm sorry," he muttered.

"It's all right, mate, not sure I could have done it either," agreed Owen immediately.

"Nor me," added Toshiko. She put the tray on the examination table and went to Ianto's side, squeezing in to sit beside him on the step, her hand on his clasped ones.

"What I don't understand," went on Ianto as if he hadn't heard them, "was why she didn't kill me. She could have, easily." He raised his eyes and met mine.

"What did she do?" I gave him a reassuring smile then turned back to Owen and put in the last stitch.

"She backed away from me, towards the cell, 'til she was standing almost in the doorway. The gun was … pointed at me but she didn't fire. She said … she said 'It's this place, it's Torchwood' and then put the gun … under her chin and … fired."

Toshiko had her arm round him when I looked back at them; she was doing what I wanted to do. Instead, I reached for the gauze and tape which Toshiko had left handy and cut a piece to dress Owen's wound.

"That's what I saw when I came to," continued Owen. "She was in the cell doorway. I thought, I really thought, she was going to kill Ianto and then me but she just … The bullet made a right mess." He looked into my eyes. "She knew what she was doing, Jack. She wanted to kill herself."

"Death by Torchwood," I murmured, securing the dressing to Owen's temple. We were silent for a few minutes.

"I don't care what you say, Jack," began Toshiko, "I'm glad. She was a murderer and this way she's saved us having to decide what to do with her."

"Too right," agreed Owen. "Better her than any of us."

"I don't disagree," I said slowly, standing back a pace or two so I could see them all, "but she was our colleague, our friend. And this happened as a result of the Glove, don't forget that. It could have been any of us if we'd been the ones to use it. So, we treat her and her memory with respect. Her dedication to Torchwood and the work she's done as a member of our team were second to none. She's a fallen colleague, let's remember her that way."

I waited and one by one they all looked at me and nodded, accepting what I'd said. These were good people and I was grateful they had come through this night unscathed, physically at least. They would all have mental scars which would take time to heal. I hoped the chat with Duncan Strachan would help us with those.

"Thank you. Now, time to get on. Tosh, the security changes aren't as urgent now."

"I've started so I may as well finish," she said with a rueful grin. "Can't leave the job half done."

"Okay, you're probably right. Owen, no need for you to hang around if you want to get off home."

"I'm all right," he said, hopping down off the examination table. "Besides, there's that Rift opening soon." I glanced at my watch and saw it was half past four. Only a few hours until it was due. "What do you want to do with Suzie? Want a PM?"

I shook my head. "No point, we know what happened and … no need to mutilate her body. I'll see to her, you get some rest."

He hesitated, staring at me, then nodded. "Okay. I'll crash on the sofa again. Ianto," he continued, turning to face him, "you need some sleep. Want a pill?"

The boy shook his head and stood up, his hand thrust into his jeans pockets. "No, thanks, I'll be all right." He looked across at me and I could see the plea in his eyes. If I was interpreting it correctly, he wanted some company.

"I'll walk you down to your room," I offered and Ianto's features softened into a smile; I had been right. "Tosh, up to you if you carry on or get some rest."

"I'll carry on and keep an eye on things. Leave you free to …" She didn't need to complete the thought.

"Good. Come on then."

I urged them out of the medical bay and saw Owen settled on the sofa and Toshiko back at her desk before walking with Ianto down to the lower levels. When we were out of sight of the others, Ianto's hand crept into mine and clung on; I got as much reassurance from the contact as he did. The horror of thinking him dead would remain with me for some time. In his room, I made him undress down to his Calvin Kleins and get into bed, tucking the duvet round him.

"Don't leave me, Jack." His pale face looked up at me from the pillow.

"I'm not going to." I lay on top of the bed clothes, resting against the headboard, and gathered him to me. His head rested on my chest and I had both arms round him. "You need sleep, Ianto. I'll stay here 'til you drop off."

"Then you'll leave? I don't want you to go." He sounded petulant and unlike his normal self as he snuggled closer, his arm tight round my waist.

"I have to see to Suzie. I owe her that much." I stroked his hair, so soft under my fingers. "She could have killed you but didn't. I am so grateful."

"Really?"

"Of course. We've only just started to get to know one another."

"Yes." He paused. "I think it would take a very long time to get to know you, if anyone ever could." His hand was playing with my waistcoat buttons. "I'd like to try."

"Give it your best shot, Ianto." I meant it. We were quiet for a while, I thought he might be beginning to get sleepy but then he spoke.

"I'm sorry … about Suzie. I'm sorry it ended like that for her."

"I know. Don't dwell on it too much. Get some sleep," I encouraged.

Half an hour later, I was able to gently ease him onto his own side of the bed and slip away. He looked peaceful lying there as I stooped to put on my boots. Walking to the cells, I wondered if I was right to encourage him; getting closer to me would only lead to him being hurt when I left with The Doctor. But I had to go, when I finally got the chance, or lose any possibility of being cured. I had a brief vision of Ianto in the TARDIS with me, travelling with The Doctor around the universe; I wonder ….

I cleared my mind of all thoughts of the future when I reached the cells. I had to give my full attention to Suzie, as I had said earlier, she deserved that from me. If I had been here, got back sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Ruthlessly suppressing this thought – what was done was done - I stripped and washed the body where it lay, cleaning the head wounds a little but they still gaped when I'd finished. When she was dressed in a short surgical gown, I carried her to the morgue and placed her in a body bag in one of the drawers. She would remain here, frozen forever, along with all the others who had died in the line of duty while working for Torchwood. There would be many memories of her around the place – good and bad – and I determined not to forget the operative she had been and the invaluable contribution she had made to our work keeping Cardiff and the rest of the world safe from alien threat. I bent and kissed her forehead before zipping up the body bag and closing the drawer.

It took me an hour to swab the cell out, removing the blood and other matter from the walls and floor. When the last traces were gone, I took Suzie's clothes and incinerated them. The blankets were soiled but would be useable again after a wash; these went into the pile of other stuff for the laundry. On my way to the office, I stopped to check on Ianto. He was lying on his side, curled up and sleeping peacefully. He looked so very young and innocent.

"Everything all right?" asked Toshiko as I walked slowly up to the work area. She was at her desk and spoke quietly so as not to disturb Owen. He was asleep on the sofa, snoring. Even in sleep he was complete contrast to Ianto; there was nothing young or innocent about the Londoner.

"Yeah. How are things coming on?" I sat in Owen's chair and stretched out my legs.

"Okay. Security changes are almost all done." She paused, looked down and over at me. "I looked at Suzie's file, for a next-of-kin. Couldn't find one. Was there anything at her flat?"

"No. Nothing personal at all. There was a snap of her with a man - her father, maybe - but it was old. I always assumed her family were dead. She ever say anything to you?"

"No."

"There was a laptop. What did I do with it?" I looked into the office as if it would suddenly appear. Maybe I was more tired than I imagined. "Must have left it in the car. I'll go and get it."

I levered myself up and went to get it, one of my last links with the enigma that was Suzie Costello.


	56. Chapter 56

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Six

The laptop didn't give me any more insight into our late colleague, Suzie Costello; she remained an enigma. After looking through its contents – business letters and various favourite websites and games – I started a systematic check using one of Toshiko's patented programs and left it on the side of my desk to run. At seven o'clock I took another shower, the second of the night, and changed yet again; I get through a lot of clothes. With a cup of tea and a piece of toast, I managed to bribe Toshiko to take a break and we sat and ate together before she went off to shower and change.

Back in the office I started typing the report of the night's events. There was so much to record. In a little under ten hours I had unmasked Suzie as a killer, prevented her killing again and she had killed herself: it felt more like ten days. To refresh my memory of events, I ran through the CCTV from the cells from the time I'd put her there until her suicide. I was especially interested in the last hour or so. I watched Suzie fashion a noose from her jacket and set up the fake hanging; Owen come into the cell and try to 'help' her; him fall as she came at him; her advance on Ianto, who could not bring himself to shoot her; her seizing the gun and aim it at him; and hear her last words before she put the gun to her chin and fired.

I stopped the recording and rewound it, leaning forward urgently. There, as she stood in the cell doorway the gun in her hand, she had looked at the camera and said … I couldn't make it out. With the volume up to maximum I ran it again but still nothing. Had she spoken or just mouthed the words? I watched again, trying to make out what she was saying. It looked as if it ended with 'Jack' but I wasn't sure. I ran the recording yet again, this time using the lip reading software. The words appeared on the screen in small, white capital letters: 'SEE YOU AGAIN, JACK'.

"Have you found something?"

I shot three feet up out my chair and clutched at my heart. "Shit, Tosh! Don't do that!"

"Sorry." She stood in front of the desk, a folder in her hand, looking scrubbed and refreshed and not at all abashed. "Didn't you hear me?"

"No, I did not!" I sat down again breathing heavily.

"Sorry," she said again. Her eyes were on the screen where I had frozen the recording with the translated words showing. "What's that?"

"A message from the dead." I didn't mind her seeing it – she'd probably have found it for herself sometime – and wanted her opinion. "Any idea what it means?"

"None," she replied, shaking her head slowly. "How on earth does she expect to see you again?"

"I have no idea." I couldn't understand it, unless she had become privy to my secret and was planning to lay in wait on the other side of the dividing line between life and death. Now there was an idea. I'd only ever encountered blackness, nothingness, and found that creepy enough; the thought of Suzie, and maybe others, waiting there for me was horrendous. What a party that would be!

"Another mystery to add to all the others," dismissed Toshiko. "I've changed all the security codes and protocols. The new ones are listed in here." She placed the folder on the desk. "Once you've checked it over, made sure I haven't missed anything, I'll copy it for the others."

"Thanks."

"I'll get on with checking her computer usage. There's a lot to go through."

"Not really important now, Tosh," I smiled. "Can't see how she could use it."

"If she's expecting to see you again, I think I'll carry on." On this ominous note, Toshiko turned and went back to her desk.

With a bit more of the report done, I watched the CCTV footage one last time before filing it away - no need for the others to be reminded of it – and took stock. Making a list seemed like a good idea and I used my trusty pencil and an old-fashioned lined exercise book. Top of my list was to call Duncan Strachan. We all needed to come to terms with what had happened and his insights and sound common sense would be just the ticket. Next, have a meeting to talk over the organisational fall-out from the loss of Suzie. I had to reallocate all her duties but first I needed to know what they were. Digging in the papers on my desk, I found her personnel file and the job description inside. It was not helpful; it had been drawn up shortly after she'd joined and not updated since. My next note was to get everyone to update their job descriptions so I wouldn't have this problem again. Not that I intended losing anyone else anytime soon, definitely not.

The list grew and grew as I added more items. It included: disposal of the Cyber-equipment; autopsies on the remaining Roman legionnaires; checking Woodland Enterprises' other properties for the elusive Cyberman; making sure the cover for the boys killed by the Weevils was holding; clearing out Suzie's flat and storing her possessions; firearms training for everyone; more combat training for Ianto – perhaps UNIT could help there; a comprehensive search to find a next-of-kin for Suzie; analysis of the Glove (without using it); creating new communication channels with the police and UNIT; and so on and so forth. My list was getting ridiculously long and very soon we'd have another Rift opening to deal with. I put the list to one side with a sigh. Planning was all very well but in the end we'd cope with whatever was thrown at us, as we always did, because we had to. Out in the work area, Owen was stirring. He grunted at Toshiko then went off in the direction of the showers leaving the throw and pillows in a heap for her to tidy away.

Deciding eight forty was an acceptable time to call Duncan, I shut the office door before finding my mobile and punching in the number. It rang three times before he picked up.

"_Strachan."_ Despite his Scottish name, he was English through and through and his cultured tones sounded authoritative and restful even with that one word.

"Duncan, it's Jack Harkness. Hope I haven't called you too early."

"_No, you're fine. I'm having coffee and looking out at a sunny morning. What's it like down there?" _

"No idea, haven't been out yet."

"_You have to get out of that hole, Jack. It's not good for you, stuck underground all day."_ He was one of the few people who had been invited into the Hub and been allowed to keep his memories. _"Are you calling about tomorrow? I haven't forgotten I'm coming to see one of your people." _

"A few things have happened here, Duncan. We lost Suzie Costello last night in … unusual circumstances." A bit of an understatement but I didn't want to say too much over the phone. "I'd like you to speak to Owen and Tosh as well as Ianto."

There was a pause. _"I'm sorry. She was your second in command, wasn't she?"_

"Yeah. Look, I can't explain now, but would you be able to give us more time. All day?"

"_I think so but let me bring up my diary."_ I could hear clicking and could visualise him at a laptop. _"Yeah, thought so, I cleared the day. My train gets into Cardiff Central at 9.47 and I don't need to be back here at any particular time."_ He lived alone in Reading with a huge library of crime novels and three pampered cats. _"I was going to meet Mr Jones in town, still want to meet off-base?"_

I thought about that. We would be stretched if the Rift started playing up but a private place to talk, away from the Hub would certainly be better for Ianto – who had wider issues to discuss – and probably for the rest of the team. "I think so," I said slowly. "I'll book a room at the St David's Hotel for you. It's handy and private with food and drink on tap. Okay?"

"_Fine by me."_ He paused and I assumed he was making a note until he spoke again when I realised he'd been choosing his words with care. _"Jack, I think I ought to chat to you too. Probably before anyone else." _

"Sure."

There was longer pause this time. _"That was way too easy, Jack. I meant that you and I should talk about - "_

"About my feelings," I finished for him. "I know and I agree. I'll pick you up from the station and give you dinner in the evening before you go back so you can fill me in on the day. How's that?"

"_Like I said, way too easy. But I accept."_

After a few more pleasantries, I ended the call. One item on my list was done. Instinctively, I looked over at Suzie's desk to ask her to book the hotel; the boxes of her work and possessions were an immediate reminder that she was gone. I called the hotel myself and booked the room, missing her once again.

Deciding on some physical activity, I went to the pile of Cyber-equipment and pulled the tarpaulins back. It looked to be a lot but there wasn't that much; it was just bulky. I separated the standard medical monitors – we could use them again – from the items for incineration which I put on a trolley. It was a pity we didn't have a lift to the lower levels but various minor earthquakes and building alterations over the years made that impossible. This would all have to be hauled down by hand.

"Want some help?" asked Owen, appearing at my shoulder.

"Please. Take this lot down to the incinerator." I indicated the trolley which was full. He trotted off without a word of protest, unusual for Owen, but I was grateful. Hopefully his co-operative mood would last for a few days at least; I meant to enjoy every minute.

Ianto appeared when only the Cyber-conversion unit remained to be taken down. It was nearly ten, very late for him, and he immediately made coffee which went well with the bacon butties Toshiko had just brought back from a breakfast run to the shops. Owen was fiddling with some of the medical equipment we were going to re-use, sitting on the conversion unit and munching on his buttie. Toshiko was sitting on the steps, also eating, with Ianto standing next to her while I was sat on the floor nearby.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Toshiko, delicately wiping her lips.

"We continue clearing up," I replied. "You carry on with the computer stuff and keep an eye on the Rift. You can get off after that, you need some sleep. Owen, after we've got this downstairs," I gestured to the conversion unit, "help Ianto sort the boxes of Suzie's stuff. We'll need to reallocate her duties but," I shrugged, "I'm not sure exactly what they are. I'd like you all to jot down anything you can think of and then we'll compare notes later." I stuffed the last of the bacon buttie in my mouth and chewed.

"What about her flat?" asked Owen.

"That'll have to be done but it's not urgent." I took a swig of the coffee. "I spoke to Duncan Strachan this morning. He's going to be in Cardiff all day tomorrow. I'll see him first, then I suggest it's you Owen, followed by Tosh and finally Ianto. I'll give him dinner before putting him back on the train." I spoke as matter-of-factly as I could, not wanting to make a big deal out of seeing him.

"What about the Rift?" asked Toshiko, standing up. "Could be active tomorrow."

"I'll talk to Major Patel, get some of his guys on call." Hari Patel was the local UNIT commander. He could be a bit of a pain but would help us out with a few of his lads to back up our depleted team when he understood why it was necessary. "The opening today, still around eleven?" I asked Toshiko.

"Nearer twelve now."

"Okay. Shift your butt, Owen, lets get this out of here." I stood up and took one end of the unit. He got off it and took the other end and between us we got it moving towards the archway. As I left the main level, I saw Ianto carefully folding the tarpaulins and putting them on one side ready to be put away; he's a treasure.

The next hour or so passed quickly. Toshiko did her thing, rarely moving from her desk, while Owen and Ianto worked together through the boxes. They appeared to be getting on okay so I kept out of their way, staying mainly in the office with just the occasional stroll around. Hari Patel agreed to give us a team of four, on standby, for the following day; we'd call them in if we needed them. A quick check of the local news websites confirmed that the boys' bodies had been found. The cover up looked secure but I went into the pathologist's notes to see what he tests he had ordered; if he wanted DNA we could be in trouble. He hadn't, so far, but I sent Toshiko the link asking her to keep an eye on it as we'd have to alter the results if he did.

At eleven fifteen, Ianto made more coffee and he brought mine to the office. "Coffee, sir," he said, placing the mug down on the desk.

"Thanks. Gonna drink yours in here with me?" Owen and Toshiko were ensconced on the sofa, getting cosy. "Looks like they could do with some privacy," I said, smiling.

"Okay." He sat down, his mug resting on the edge of the desk as it cooled enough to drink. "I didn't realise you were going to see this counsellor," he began, staring off at some distant point.

"I'm no different to anyone else. It helps to talk things through."

"I've always done the opposite."

"And has that worked?" I sipped the coffee, which was really too hot but I couldn't wait.

"You know it hasn't." He looked at me then. "I'll give him a try."

"That's all I want, Ianto. How did you sleep last night?" I'd been too busy to check up on him as often as I'd have liked. What am I saying, I'd wanted to stay with him.

"Good." He looked surprised. "Guess I was too tired for nightmares."

"Pleased to hear it."

We sipped our coffee in silence for a few minutes, the gentle sounds of the Hub a reassuring background to our thoughts. It seemed my little team was going to pull through this latest catastrophe which meant picking the right person to join us all the more important. A trip to the local UNIT base might be appropriate, they had people with some of the skills we needed.

"Will you need me to do more fieldwork?" he asked, sipping from his mug. "It'll be hard with just the three of you."

"I'd rather you stayed our backup. There's a hell of lot of admin to be done and I think you're the man for the job." I leant forward on the desk. "But we must give you some more training. I want you to feel confident with a weapon and have some basic hand-to-hand fighting skills."

"So I don't freeze again," he stated baldly.

"Those were exceptional circumstances! You heard the others, they admitted they'd have frozen too. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"No." He didn't sound convinced.

Deciding to drop the subject for now I said, "How about we go out a meal tonight?"

"Won't you be on duty?" He was right, Owen and Toshiko deserved the night off.

"Stay in then, watch a DVD."

He shook his head. "I'm not going be able to relax up here, not yet anyway."

"We could go to your room," I suggested with a knowing look.

He smiled, understanding the inference. "Yeah, we could. Not much to do down there."

"What!? Here I am offering you a night of passion and you're turning your, oh so cute, nose up at it?" I feigned my hurt feelings, hoping he'd respond. "If that's not good enough for you, we'll have to take the DVD with us."

"No TV," he pointed out, smiling more widely over the rim of the mug.

"We'll set one up. You ought to have one down there anyway. There's a plasma screen we can use, go nicely at the end of the bed." I was sitting back now, cradling the coffee mug, imagining an hour or two pottering about setting it up.

"Okay, I'd like that." Ianto finished his coffee. "You're good at all that stuff," he said, putting the mug down on the desk. "Surprising really, considering your background."

That got my attention and I looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he lowered his voice, "given you were born so long ago." He grinned suddenly, his face lighting up. "I'd loved to have seen you in your Victorian gear. Did you wear knickerbockers?"

"No I did not!" The cheek of it! "I had this great coat, big cape to it, and the shirt …" I paused in admiring remembrance, "all ruffles."

"You must have looked a right twit." He was giggling now, a sight and sound so rare, I had to join in. It was good to laugh.


	57. Chapter 57

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Seven

The Rift brought us another Phyte. It was dumped unceremoniously near Llandough Hospital at midday and made a heck of a mess as it splattered all over the pavement. There was orange gunge everywhere; on the ground, halfway up the walls of the maternity unit and even - we discovered when it dripped on Toshiko - on the roof. I took the whole team, including Ianto, to the scene. It was only a clean up operation but it did us good to get out of the Hub and to work together.

"From these readings," said Toshiko, walking round the worst of the mess, "I'd say it was quite an old Phyte. Probably why it didn't survive the trip."

"Did it burst in the air or hit the ground really hard?" asked Ianto. He was sensibly dressed in overalls – I wonder where he found those? – wielding a shovel.

"Does it matter? Same bleeding result," commented Owen. He was also shovelling the remains into the biohazard container but without overalls he was getting much dirtier than Ianto. The remains weren't harmful nor did we need to examine them – don't think we could have anyway, not enough left – but they needed to be disposed of with care.

Toshiko ignored him. "Burst, I think."

"That would explain the roof," agreed Ianto, nodding sagely.

I kept a watching brief, well back from the dirty jobs; didn't want to make my greatcoat any worse than it was already. It had fallen to me to liaise with the police and hospital authorities and I did a lousy job. I don't care about their sensibilities or procedures or what have you; Torchwood comes first and they just have to like it or lump it. Not the best of attitudes if one needs their co-operation, I know, but no matter how I try I can't care about their little problems. I'd always delegated the role but now there was no one suitable and I badly needed someone to do it. I stood, hands in my pockets, and considered Owen, bitching to his colleagues, and Toshiko, lost in the safe world of electronics, and had a hard job imagining either of them in the role. Perhaps they needed to specialise while the new team member, one with the people skills we all lacked, filled the gap. Something to think about.

A final hosing down cleared the last of the mess and we were able to depart, an hour and a half after we'd arrived. Ianto called in an order for pizza as we drove back so when it was delivered at two o'clock we were clean once more and able to take it to the Boardroom along with some well-earned coffee. Time for an informal briefing meeting.

"Okay, let's use this time productively," I began. "Tosh, why don't you start the ball rolling with an update."

"Okay." She wiped her hands before passing us each two pieces of paper neatly stapled together. "These are the new codes and protocols. Some you've already had to use but there are others you won't have yet. Study them and remember them because I'm not going to keep bailing you out if you enter the wrong ones." She looked at us sternly and longest at Owen. "If you should find any other codes which haven't been changed, let me or Jack know immediately."

"I'd be surprised if there are any you've missed. Good job, Tosh." I smiled at her, pleased with her efforts.

"I can see one," said Owen. "Combination of the alien morgue's not on here." He grinned at Toshiko, delighted to have found something she'd overlooked.

"It must be." She looked frantically through her notes but had to admit that she had forgotten it. "I am so sorry, Jack. I was sure I'd done them all."

"No problem. Hardly the most important one we have," I soothed, but made a mental note to check the list again. I'd missed it and we couldn't afford to be complacent with security. "Better come up with a new one, Owen, you use it the most. What about the other things you've been doing, Tosh?"

"Still going through Suzie's computer activity over the past couple of months. It's pretty innocuous stuff so far."

"As I said before, that's low priority now; she can't activate any sleeper programs, not any more." No chance of her coming back from the dead anytime soon. "If you want to carry on with it, fine, but we still have a Cyberman to find and that takes precedence. However, all of that can wait until tomorrow because, soon as this meeting's over, you're going home."

"Okay." It was a mark of her tiredness that she accepted the order without argument. "I'll get onto the search of those other locations first thing in the morning."

I nodded and swallowed my mouthful of food. "Owen, I want those final Roman legionnaires autopsied today. Anything else you got on hand?"

"Nothing pressing. I'd like to get down with the Weevils again soon, carry on with the tests, but it's not urgent."

"Are you going to want to keep all three Weevils?" asked Ianto, the first time he'd spoken at the meeting. "They aren't the nicest of house guests."

"Yeah, I need 'em!" he said, unhappy at being challenged.

"How long is your study going to take?" I asked, picking up another slice of meat feast.

"Not sure. I want to run some psionic field tests on all three. Couple of days at most for those, if the Rift's quiet. After that, we can let the last two go and keep Janet for long term observation." He looked over at Ianto and added, sarcastically, "If the teaboy doesn't mind?"

"I can cope," replied Ianto, deadpan.

"Your firearms refresher's due, Owen," I reminded him. "Might be a good idea if we all got down to the range this week, could need -" I couldn't continue for the howls of derision from Owen.

"You keep your wandering hands to yourself, Harkness!" said Owen over the noise. "'S not appreciated."

"Speak for yourself," put in Ianto dryly with a sly smile that had the others laughing.

"Yeah, getting up close and personal with Jack over a target is the only thrill I get these days," added Toshiko with a wry grin. I let them have their fun. It was good to hear laughter in this place after last night.

"Always willing to oblige, Tosh, you know that." I winked at her and she giggled girlishly. "Seriously, I'd like you all to find the time over the next few days."

"I'm at your disposal, sir," said Ianto to the others' continued hilarity.

"It's a date, handsome." He blushed and concentrated on selecting another slice of his pizza which he nibbled while keeping his eyes trained on the desk. "We're going to be pushed now we're one down and I'm going to need you all to be flexible," more laughter, "in the hours you work and the jobs you do," I finished. That sobered them. "I'll cover the night shifts but you'll have to be on call."

"You need to sleep sometime, Jack," said Owen. "Even you can't do every night."

"Owen's right. He and I'll do our share too," added Toshiko. "And I'm happy to examine all the artefacts we find. The additional computer programming and analyses too, of course."

"If Tosh is doing all that," said Owen, apparently not willing to be left out when others were volunteering, "she'll be needed here, in the Hub. I should be first call for field ops with you, Jack."

"Would it help if I checked the websites and alerts every day?" asked Ianto. "I think I know how."

I was grateful for their willingness to muck in. "Thanks, all of you. That sounds like a good plan. When other jobs come up, we'll share them out between us."

"You looking to recruit someone?" asked Owen, his last slice of pizza poised dangerously in his hand.

"I'll have to eventually; it's too much for four of us. If you've got any suggestions, anyone you've come across, let me know. Ianto, anything from you?"

"Nothing special. I'll be continuing in the archives. That reader thing is working quite well," he added, glancing over at Toshiko. I was reminded that she had taken it home with her and I decided a warning about security would be appropriate.

"Great, I thought it be would worth a try," she was saying, smiling happily. She does love it when we find uses for the alien technology.

"Before I forget," I said, pausing to get their attention, "I do not want any more breaches of security with artefacts being taken out of the Hub. You know the rules, follow them or I'll institute strip searches!"

"And wouldn't you love that!" That was from Owen, of course.

"I doubt you would! Please, people, just leave the stuff in the Hub." They nodded and generally indicated their agreement. "Sorry, Ianto, I interrupted you, anything else?"

"Just one thing." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a flyer. "There's going to be a food festival in the Plass in a couple of weeks. Lots of tents and people. I wondered whether that meant we couldn't use the lift?"

"Quite right, we can't. Can I see?" I held out my hand and took the flyer, reading it with interest. Various events take place throughout the year and they're a nuisance. Not only do they interfere with our use of the lift, they also bring a lot more people to the Quay which can hamper us getting out of the other exits.

"What are they flogging this time?" asked Owen before burping loudly.

"Owen!" complained Toshiko, scowling at him.

"What? Better out than in." He grinned at her then looked back at me. "So, what is it?"

Ianto answered him. "It's a promotion of French food and drink. About fifty producers all told, spread around the Plass."

"Drink, did you say?" Owen was interested now. "Lots of samples going spare then."

"You have enough drink normally without any extra!" said Toshiko tartly.

The meeting degenerated into a discussion of Owen's liquid lifestyle – he'd been in seventh heaven when the beer-fest was on last year - until only a few crusts remained and the coffee mugs were empty. Toshiko packed up and went home having been at work for more than thirty hours without a break; Owen got on with the autopsies; Ianto cleared up before going to the archives; and I checked the Rift predictor. There was nothing expected for the next twelve hours.

I could have done some paperwork but decided instead to reorganise the corner of the Hub that had been Suzie's for the past few years. I didn't want to forget her, she truly had been a valued colleague, but her departure had been unhappy and we didn't need the reminders about the place. Moving the desk and some of the equipment she'd always kept about her would change the look of the corner and make it more comfortable for us all as we continued to work here.

On her desk were the boxes Ianto had filled. I sealed the one containing her personal possessions and put it in a corner of the office; that would join the contents of her flat when it was cleared and stored. All Torchwood employees' possessions were kept. I've never been quite sure why but as none of them had had families or anyone else who wanted the stuff it had never been an issue. No need to change it for Suzie, she had no one in her life. There was a whole box full of folders, files and other paperwork which was pretty daunting. I looked through it and noticed the dreaded budget folders, four big fat ones, and groaned quietly. I had to off-load this on someone soon. This box also went into the office; I'd look through it more detail later and reallocate all I could.

The boxes of artefacts were a strange mix and after scanning them I decided none required urgent attention and took them down to the archives. The fourth of the fifteen rooms used to house the hoarded alien items contained the most recent finds so I went in and dumped the boxes on top of some others, pleased to be rid of them.

"Are you intending to leave those there?" came from the doorway behind me. Ianto. I'd forgotten he'd started sorting the artefacts and now he'd found me dumping more.

"I was," I said slowly, turning to give him one of my most winning smiles.

"Huh!" He pushed past me and looked inside, confirming the contents. "In the future, sir, let me have any artefacts, files or other papers for filing. That way I'll have a fighting chance of finding them again."

"You mean you don't want me to come down here any more?" I tried to look sad. "You wound me." With hand on my heart, I tried even harder at the look.

"Are you constipated, sir? You should speak to Owen."

"Hey!" I grinned and gave up; sad never worked for me. "Really," I said, grasping him by the waist and pulling him close, "you want me to stay away?" I relished any chance to touch him, especially after nearly losing him this morning.

"Didn't say that. You'll always be welcome to visit, just don't bring stuff with you." His lips met mine and his tongue played over my teeth until I opened my mouth fully and let him explore. His hands were running through my hair and with eyes closed I let myself enjoy the feel and smell of him. We stayed in one another's arms for five minutes or so until he pulled back.

"Why are you stopping?" I asked, a silly grin on my face.

"Work to do. Besides, that was just a taster of what you - might - get tonight, if you're good." With a wink, he slapped my arse and flounced out of the room. "Lock up after you."

A playful Ianto was a joy to behold and I was after him as soon as I'd shut the door on the artefacts. He was walking up the corridor, swinging his hips provocatively. I caught him at the next junction and pressed him up against the wall and kissed him hard. It's good that he takes the lead sometimes but I - marginally - prefer being in control. Our mouths were clamped together and my hands were inside his shirt and about to head south when Owen's voice came over the comms.

"Jack, an alarm just went off. Something's happening at the university."

"On my way," I told him. "You," I said to Ianto, giving him a lingering kiss, "don't forget where we were. I'll want to start where I left off."

"Yes, sir," he murmured with a sly smile. I left him tidying his clothing and ran upstairs, smoothing my hair and tucking in my own shirt. "What have you got, Owen?" I asked, walking across to the work area.

Owen was at Toshiko's desk looking smaller than usual; the bank of screens seemed to dwarf him. "Reports of a 'beast' at the Dental School. Looked like a prank at first, but the police have been called in."

"CCTV?" I was behind him now, looking at the screens.

"Just getting there." He was a lot slower than Toshiko would have been but he managed to bring the feed up. There were crowds of students and staff milling about outside the building and a couple of police cars arrived as we watched. On another screen, a picture of the inside of the building appeared – a lecture hall – and the beast was evident. "A bleeding Hoix," groaned Owen.

"Literally." I looked more closely. "It's wounded." Normally they are fairly simple to catch – just offer them food – but wounded ones could be more temperamental. "Let's go."

Ianto was just coming out of the office and handed me the Webley before helping me into my greatcoat. Owen donned his leather jacket over his soiled scrubs and grabbed an equipment box. Ianto handed him a Glock.

"I'll keep an eye on developments from here," said Ianto calmly, moving to Toshiko's desk.

"Thanks," I called as Owen and I dashed out to the garage.

The late Monday afternoon traffic was heavy and it took thirty minutes to get to Dental Drive (no imagination the Welsh). The crowd had been pushed back behind some crime scene tape and an ambulance and two more police cars had arrived. We showed our credentials and pushed through into the building. Following the PDA readings, we arrived at the lecture hall and, after clearing the police out of the way, went inside. The Hoix snarled and growled at us but remained about halfway up the bank of seats. Taking the lead, I climbed towards him and chucked a chocolate bar his way. True to form, he dived on it and I was able to lunge forward and inject the universal sedative. Owen came on the Hoix from the side and we held on until the sedative had taken effect.

It took us longer to get the Hoix out of the building than it had to subdue him but three quarters of an hour after we'd arrived, we were ready to depart. The drive back took forever in the rush hour traffic; the whole of Cardiff seemed to be on the move and headed in our direction. When we finally made it back to the garage it was nearly six o'clock. Owen went back to his autopsy and Ianto and I took Hoixy to the cells.

On the way back, Ianto reminded me what we had been doing before I'd been called away. He's got a good memory.


	58. Chapter 58

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Eight

"Careful, you're going to drop it!" called Ianto anxiously.

"I'm not!" I replied, hefting my end of the plasma screen up an inch or two and getting a more secure grip. It was heavier than I'd expected and awkward to manoeuvre through the corridors and down the steps to Ianto's room.

Ianto gave a disbelieving grunt. "Left turn in a couple of paces." He was giving the directions as he could see where we were going; I had drawn the short straw and was walking backwards. We made the turn and a few minutes later entered his room and put the screen down on the bed with a sigh of relief.

"Right, let's hook her up. You're sure this is where you want it?" I asked, moving to the wall at the foot of the bed, behind the door.

"Yep."

He and I had run the wires down here earlier, shortly after Owen had gone home after finishing the autopsies. Ianto was still in a playful mood – when he wasn't criticising me - and I was keeping an eye on him. Mood swings were a sign of trauma and he had been through a lot in the past twenty four hours. I hoped a quiet night watching a DVD would calm him down. It took ten minutes to complete the connections and fix the screen to the wall.

"Let's see if it's right," he said, plonking himself on the bed. "Oh yeah, I'll never want to leave here now." He grinned at me. "Thanks."

"Budge over, let me see." I joined him on the bed, surprised when he didn't berate me for not taking off my boots. "Try it then." I handed him the remote (for the screen and DVD player) and the keyboard (for the computer).

He bent to his task and was like a little kid with a new toy as he fiddled with colour tones and volume control until he got it to his liking. The computer was the same as those upstairs and he was delighted to find he could access the databases. Personally, I thought I'd made a mistake including them - he worked long hours already and now he'd be able to work from bed - but I didn't say anything.

"Thanks, Jack, this is great." He leant over and kissed me. "What shall we watch?"

"You choose, but how about coffee first?"

"Okay. Want a sandwich? Biscuits? There's some shortbread still." He was scrambling off the bed, putting the keyboard on the side and leaving the remote handy.

"Shortbread would be fine. I don't need anything else, thanks."

He almost ran out of the room while I followed more slowly. Was he hyperactive? Perhaps it was a natural reaction to recent events and he'd come down soon. In the work area I checked the Rift predictor which still showed nothing coming our way tonight. I switched the alerts to my wrist-strap and made sure all else was secure before joining Ianto at the coffee machine.

"I'm making lattes," he told me with a smile. "Should help us relax."

"Good idea. Decided on the DVD yet?" I picked up the tin of shortbread and packet of cheesy nibbles that were on the side.

"No. I've got a few downstairs."

In the end, we watched _Lord of the Rings_. Not all three movies, just the first one. Ianto cuddled up next to me and spoke most of Frodo's dialogue along with him – this was something like the fortieth time he'd watched the film – and gradually grew quieter. With the Fellowship split up and going their separate ways, we turned off the screen and made love. It was gentle and highly satisfying, just what we both needed. Then we slept, warm and comfortable, entwined around one another.

Early the next morning I woke and lay for several minutes. Ianto was on his front partly beneath me, snoring; he made a great pillow. The quiet evening appeared to have relaxed him enough to allow him some uninterrupted sleep and I was pleased. The more rest he got the easier it would be for him to cope with whatever Torchwood threw at him. Deciding against waking him, I slipped from the bed and picked up my clothes from the chair where Ianto had deposited them and left the room. Padding up the corridor I regretted not putting on my boots when I trod on a stray screw. I was limping when I got to the main level and checked the Rift predictor once more. All was quiet, thank goodness.

As I dressed, I contemplated what to do with these empty hours. The box of files and folders waited in the office for me to sort through but I decided that rearranging Suzie's desk was more important. I packed up the welding gear and trundled it into a store room on the next level down where I also put some of the other equipment and the pegboard from behind the desk. With the desk re-positioned to face out into the Hub and moved several feet to the left that corner looked completely different. In fact it looked too empty. I found some equipment boxes and put one on the desk and another couple by the side; it would be a good place to restock them. Stepping back to stand by the pool, I surveyed the corner again and decided it was better. Not perfect, but better.

It was only three thirty so I made a cup of tea, went to the office and started looking through the files. I'd not got far when my PC beeped. On opening the screen a live link automatically activated and there was Ianto sitting up in bed, his hair tousled and his expression cross.

"Come back to bed," he demanded, his voice deep and husky with sleep. I was charmed; the new computer link was having unforeseen benefits.

"On my way."

"You have five minutes." He held up a large, old-fashioned stopwatch and depressed the button on top.

I made in four minutes and fifty eight seconds.

The shower was hot and refreshing and I was singing lustily. _Oklahoma_ is one of my favourite musicals and the title song was great for seven in the morning. Ianto, showering in the adjoining cubicle as we didn't have time for another shag, was singing too but not as loudly which was just as well as he didn't know the words. Half an hour later, shaved and dressed, we were ready to face the world. Ianto was making coffee and I was back looking through the files when Toshiko walked through the cog door with a box of something that smelt delicious.

"Fresh croissants, if you're interested," she called to us both, setting them on the coffee table and hanging up her jacket. "How was it last night?"

"Quiet." I sauntered out, trying not to look too eager for a pastry. "You look rested."

"Yeah, I feel it." She looked like she was going to say something else but didn't, reaching for the box instead. "There's a selection, help yourself," she offered, holding it out to me.

"Ta." I found a chocolate one and had half in my mouth when Ianto joined us with a tray of coffees.

"You'd think he hadn't had a meal for a week," he said to Toshiko, putting the tray down. "Morning, Tosh."

"This is just wonderful," I managed round my mouthful. I'd have said more but my mobile rang. I found it on my desk and answered, "Harkness."

"_Jack, Duncan Strachan. Just to let you know I'm about to leave for the station. I'll be at Cardiff at nine forty seven." _

"I'll pick you up. Call again if the train's delayed, or early." He laughed at this but I had known trains to arrive early, a few decades ago admittedly, but it was possible. We ended the call and I returned to the work area. Toshiko was at her desk showing Ianto something on one of the screens so I snuck up to get another croissant.

"Now you're being greedy, sir," said Ianto without turning round.

"How did you know what I was doing?" I asked, hand in the box and feeling like a kid found out by his mother.

"I know everything." He looked over his shoulder and regarded me seriously before winking. "Time for some work, sir."

"Slave-driver!" I took a flaky, buttery croissant and stalked back to the office. The pair of them took no notice, just carried on talking before Ianto went to his own desk. Toshiko, pastry in hand, walked over and stood in the doorway.

"Ianto's going to do the alerts. I'll keep an eye on him but he seems to know what he's about. Any idea what time I'll be seeing Duncan today?"

"Not sure, depends really."

"I want to dig down into this Woodland Enterprises and it's a pain if I have to leave it partway through." She bit into the pastry.

"Right. I should think it would be around lunchtime, twelvish?"

"That's fine. I'll be done by then." She smiled and returned to her desk. I don't think that was what she was going to ask but I didn't like to push her. Something was on her mind.

Owen came in just after nine and made a point of chatting to both Toshiko and Ianto as he collected a mug of coffee and the last croissant. He even appeared to be listening to them which impressed me; maybe he would be okay as a deputy. He finally made it to the office, brushing crumbs from his shirt as he walked through the door.

"What's the timetable for today?" he asked as he slumped into the visitor's chair. "Just so we know."

"Duncan arrives at quarter to ten. I'll meet him and take him to the hotel and have a chat. When we're done, I'll call you. When you're done, you ring Tosh – I told her it'd be around twelve but if it's later it won't matter. She calls Ianto. I'm assuming he may take a bit longer than the rest of us."

"Probably. And it's the St David's?"

"Uh huh."

He glanced at his watch. "Time for a bit of gunplay then, while you're safely out of the way." He grinned and left for the firing range.

I was standing on the platform at Cardiff Central when the train drew in, precisely on time. Duncan emerged from the last carriage, a lanky six-footer in the stereotypical garb of the academic: tweed jacket with leather elbow patches over a crumpled shirt and corduroy trousers, all old. His exterior hid a keen brain and I wondered if he adopted the guise to fool people. After greetings, I led the way out of the station to the car; I'd taken Suzie's Rav 4 as the others might need the SUV.

"Is my memory failing or has your car shrunk?" asked Duncan when we were wending our way through the one way system to the Bay.

"No, you're right," I smiled at him. "Just borrowing this one. It was Suzie's."

"Oh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, negotiating a roundabout. "I hate it when you do that!"

"Do what?"

"Say 'Oh' and go silent. Like there's something wrong with what I've said." I glared at him, not really upset but it was irritating. It put me on edge, made me feel I had to explain myself which, I am sure, is just what he wanted.

"Is there?"

"There you go again! Answering a question with a question. I knew there was a reason I stayed away from therapists!" I aimed for a gap in the traffic and squeezed through, making it across the junction before the lights changed.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It surprises me, you driving her car, that's all."

"It was handy and I don't have one of my own. Don't read anything into it." I kept my eyes on the road and concentrated on driving.

"I won't." He paused then said, "The city's looking good. Lots more new buildings."

We chatted about Cardiff and other non-contentious subjects until we arrived at the hotel. The building is impressive and its position, jutting out into the Bay, makes it even more imposing. After registering, we went up to the eighth floor and into the room they'd allocated us. It was a large double with a stupendous view over the Bristol Channel and round the Bay. I flung my coat on the bed and took a bottle of water from the fridge while he fiddled with tea bags and the kettle; he likes a herbal brew that smells of flowers.

"So, Jack, why don't you fill me in."

I turned from looking out of the window and sat on the deep windowsill, looking back at him sitting in an armchair with a notepad on his knee. "Okay. A while back, we found a metal Glove in the Bay and Suzie took it for analysis. She got it to work, was the only one who could, and started experimenting with it. It brings the dead back to life."

"It what!?" Duncan's hand shot up and tea spilt on his leg. "Damn!" I had to smile; my turn to disconcert him.

"It brings them back to life. Not for long, couple of minutes tops. Suzie used it on animals and then on people. It worked best on the recently dead, the more violent the death the better. Murder victims were ideal. Trouble was, the Glove affected Suzie – don't know how and didn't see it in time – and when the supply of bodies dried up, she took to murder."

He was staring at me now. "She murdered people?"

"Two that I know of, possibly more. I stopped her on Sunday night when she was about to murder another. Brought her back to the Hub where, early yesterday morning, she shot herself through the head." I sipped some water and watched him. I had no problem telling him this – he had the highest security clearance and he needed to know if he was to help the others.

"And how did you all react to this?" He was calm and in control again; he's good.

"Pretty much as you'd expect. Owen's angry, may feel guilty too. He was in the cells with her when she … did it. They'd been close, were shagging, up to a few months ago so he'll want to vent. Tosh, well you know Toshiko. She wants to find out why things turned out this way but at the same time wants to forget about it and move on." I took another drink of water. "You know Ianto's medical history?"

Duncan looked up from the notes he was making. "Yes, Owen sent me a summary of his file."

"Well, Ianto was the one with the gun. She took it off him and used it on herself. In front of him. Not what he needed to see. He seems to be taking it well but he's very … private, contained. Was a bit hyper yesterday too."

"It must have brought back memories of Canary Wharf."

"I don't know, he didn't say, and he didn't have any nightmares, on Sunday or last night." I waited a moment then added, "He and I are sleeping together. And I slept with Suzie too, long time ago."

"Oh."

"You're doing it again!" I warned.

"Sorry." He scribbled a few more notes then looked over at me. "And what about you? How do you feel?"

"I've lost a lot of people over the years. I've learnt how to mourn and move on." I finished the water.

"Which is why you're standing with your back to the light to hide your face and driving around in your dead lover's car!" he said sharply.

"Will you shut up about the damned car!?" I threw the water bottle across the room and in three paces was leaning over him, my hands on the arms of the chair and my face inches from his. "I know it was wrong, okay? If I'd come straight back then … then maybe this wouldn't have happened and she'd still be alive. But I didn't and she's dead! I have to live with that!"

"Well that got a reaction," he said calmly. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Damn you!" I said quietly and straightened up, taking deep breaths.

"Come on, Jack, talk to me."

Sitting on the end of the bed I held my head in my hands. Why not tell him? "On Sunday night I left to check on Suzie's flat. I picked up the car - the one you seem so interested in! - and took it for a spin along the dual-carriageway. If I'd gone straight back to the Hub I'd have been there to stop her. Owen and Ianto wouldn't have been there."

"You always did have a big ego." When I looked up, Duncan was sitting forward smiling. "Blaming yourself for something you couldn't prevent -"

"But I could have!" I protested. "If I'd been there, she wouldn't have got the gun!"

"Then she'd have found another way. I know I've only just got here but the Suzie I knew was one tough cookie. I can't imagine she'd have relished life in prison or a UNIT detention centre. She'd have preferred a quick end."

"I wouldn't have done that, not to her."

"What would you have done then?"

"Once she was safe, I'd have used Retcon."

"Oh, right. Taking away years of her life, her memories, would be better?"

"Maybe not," I admitted, remembering the two years that had been taken from me.

"Let's talk about this some more, Jack."


	59. Chapter 59

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Fifty Nine

I was sitting in the car when Owen pulled into the hotel car park and strolled through the front doors. He didn't see me, I was parked at the back behind a hedge. My thoughts were on what Duncan and I had discussed over the past hour; he had put a new slant on recent events and I needed to mull it over in peace.

Duncan was right about Suzie, she would not have wanted to be shut away or to lose her memory; she'd have wanted either to escape or die. I put myself in her place and thought through the events of Sunday night. Brought into the Hub, she knew that I would order all the security codes to be changed. To get out she would have to overpower us all. Disable, not kill. Despite her recent murder spree, I still didn't believe she would be capable of killing us, not her colleagues, her friends. But she would have calculated the odds and realised they were long. One of us was bound to thwart her, me especially, and so escape was impossible. Which left death. We had left nothing in the cell for her to use to kill herself but she had made it look like we had to draw us down there. Correctly expecting us to be armed, she knew attacking one of us would leave the other with no option but to shoot which is where she had miscalculated. I'd not been in the Hub to oblige. Instead it had been untrained Ianto facing her and he had been unable to pull the trigger. So she had shot herself. A weight lifted from my shoulders as I let go of the guilt of not being there; she had wanted death. I had to concentrate on the living and let the dead go.

It was a short drive back to the Hub and I walked into the Tourist Office to find Ianto behind the counter working on the computer. He was more his usual reserved self today, the playfulness had gone, and only smiled slightly when I stood before him.

"All right, sir?"

"Very all right." I beamed at him before leaning over and planting a smacker on his lips. "I am going to make you an offer, one you can't refuse."

"Not now, sir, and not here." He glanced round nervously, at the public and private doors.

"Not that! How's your adding up?" He stared at me blankly. "And your taking away?" Still no response. "Are you any good at maths, Ianto?" I explained.

"Oh, reasonable I suppose. Why?"

"How would you like to manage the budget? Keep track of all the expenditure and fill in all the forms for the Treasury? It's a much sought-after job and I'm giving you first refusal." I smiled encouragingly. The others wouldn't touch it with a bargepole and I needed Ianto to agree if I was to keep my sanity.

"All right." He smiled happily. I felt a heel for misleading him so kissed him again.

"Great. I'll put the files on your desk. Take a look at them and then we can chat." With a cheery wave, I pressed the big red button and went through the secret door before he could change his mind. My good mood had just got better and I was whistling as I walked up the steps to the work area. "How are you doing, Tosh?" I asked as I breezed past her, coat half off and trailing behind me on the ground.

"Not as well as you, obviously." She twisted in her chair and watched as I hung up the coat – must get the slit in the arm mended soon – and put my Webley in the drawer. "Duncan must be better than I remember."

"He is very good. But that's not why I'm happy." I picked up the budget folders, all four of them, and walked out of the office.

"Oh no, I'm not doing that!" she protested immediately.

"I wouldn't ask you, Tosh, and anyway, Ianto's already agreed." I grinned broadly and almost ran to his desk to deposit the files.

"That's not fair! You must have tricked him."

"What do you take me for?" I put as much hurt into my voice as I could before grinning again. "Want a cup of tea?" I never touched the coffee machine but tea I could make.

"Please."

She went back to her work, shaking her head at me, and I made the tea. Not difficult really, just put the bags in mugs and pour on hot water adding milk to taste; must be why I could manage it. "Your tea," I said, placing the mug on her desk. I sat in Owen's chair and sipped the brew. "Found out any more about those properties?"

"I've been catching up on the satellite images from the past couple of days and there's something going on at Lampeter." She tapped at the keyboard to bring up some images. "Woodland Enterprises is, as the name suggests, involved in all sorts of activities involving wood. It manages woodland, sells timber and makes wooden items. The factory in Lampeter makes garden furniture. It's a small scale operation, only a handful of people work there, but the buildings are extensive, much larger than necessary. See."

I was beside her now, looking at the screen. Over the next five minutes she explained the layout of the factory which included a warehouse to store incoming timber, a workshop, a combined storage area and showroom which also sold plants and pots, kind of a mini-garden centre. At the back of the property was a large building that didn't seem to have any purpose at all.

"It could be for expansion," I suggested, sipping the tea.

"This is Parker's property," pointed out Toshiko, "he's not known for letting buildings stand idle. A man, security guard presumably, walks round the building every couple of hours and there are bars on the windows and the door is padlocked." She zoomed in. "Why do that for an empty building?"

"You're right." I sat back considering the options. We would only know for sure if a Cyberman was there by getting inside ourselves. Lampeter was two hours away and a trip up there and back would take the best part of the day and, if it was occupied, there would be guards. There were not enough of us to take them on even with our weaponry; I wasn't taking risks with the people I had left. UNIT assistance was out; I didn't want Hari Patel anywhere near and it was out of Alan Mace's jurisdiction. Facing facts, I concluded there was no way I was going to attempt an assault on the place with just Owen and Toshiko. Which left surveillance. "Let's keep an eye on it for a couple of days. Monitor all activity and we'll think again about whether to go up there."

"Okay." She didn't sound surprised by my decision, had probably worked it out for herself already. That kind of thinking would be good in a deputy; I filed the thought away. "I've not found anything suspicious in Suzie's computer usage for the past couple of months. Want me to go back any further?"

"No. There's nothing there, like there was nothing on her laptop."

"Do we have to clear her flat?" She wouldn't look at me and I guessed she'd prefer not to get involved in that. Seeing a friend's possessions packed up in boxes was a stark reminder of what would happen to her own treasures if she was unlucky or careless.

"We don't have to. I know someone who can do the job, just needs to be supervised." I'd first used them back in 2000 when Alex Hopkins had shot himself and the rest of the team. Five flats and houses to be cleared and possessions stored was too much for one man, even me. Brendan Griffiths and his son Will had done a good job and I'd called on their services since for various jobs, including out at Flat Holm, that I'd needed to keep secret from the team.

"Good." She finished her tea and looked like she'd say something, maybe ask that question that had been threatening all morning, but her mobile rang and she answered it instead. It was Owen who was about to leave the hotel: it was only 11:42, he'd been quick. "Okay if I go now?" she asked, putting the mobile away.

"Sure. And get yourselves something to eat, just put it on the bill. I'm sure room service will be able to come up with something other than pizza."

"Is there something wrong with pizza, sir?" asked Ianto, appearing at the top of the steps. I don't know how he does it but it's spooky the way he just materialises like that.

"Just gets a bit boring." I smiled up at him and watched as Toshiko got her things together. "Take as long as you need, Tosh."

"Thanks. While I'm gone, you may want to take a look at this." She fiddled with the keyboard and brought up a new screen. "Some Antilositic energy in Rhiwbina. It's been building over the past few weeks and has just reached high enough levels to be picked up by our monitors." With a wave she was gone.

"If you don't want pizza, what do you want for lunch?" asked Ianto, standing watching me.

"I don't mind." I was staring at the screen and the analysis of the energy.

"What is that?"

"Energy readings." I checked another page and studied the chart showing the build up in levels over the past three months. It had started very low and increased steadily since. "Antilositic energy is alien to Earth and usually a sign of lifeforms," I added absent-mindedly.

"Dangerous?" he asked, peering over my shoulder at the screen.

"Could be, in time." With a determined effort, I drew my gaze away from the screen. It was something else to keep an eye on, that was all. "Now, did you say something about lunch?"

We settled on fish and chips and Ianto went out to buy them. Owen returned to the Hub and settled at his desk to check the medical alerts and hospital admissions, one of his regular tasks. He didn't say anything about his chat with Duncan and I didn't ask. I watched from the office but he looked the same as ever, maybe a bit happier. When Ianto and lunch arrived, we ate it in the work area straight from the paper - tastes better that way. Owen made a conscious effort to include Ianto in the conversation which earned him a few searching looks from the Welshman who expected, and no doubt preferred, to be ignored.

It was around two thirty when Ianto went to see Duncan Strachan and Toshiko returned. She too was quiet and settled to work at her desk while Owen and I went out to deal with a couple of Weevils who were running loose in Penarth. With them successfully sedated we loaded them in the back of the SUV and made to return to the Hub.

"Don't let's take them back," said Owen unexpectedly. "Why clog up the cells? They're not needed for anything."

"Just release them, you mean?"

"Yeah." He fiddled with the PDA. "There's a sewer opening a couple of streets over, near some wasteland."

"Okay."

As we drove, I pondered this further evidence of Owen thinking ahead and making a practical suggestion that would lessen the workload of the team, Ianto in particular. Maybe he did have the makings of a leader, if he could curb his sarcastic tongue. We dropped off the Weevils, leaving them beside the opening, and withdrew into the SUV, waiting to make sure they went back to their lair under the city's streets.

"Everything all right?" I asked in the silence as we sat looking at the comatose bodies.

"Yeah." He said no more so I let it go at that.

Ten minutes later the Weevils revived - we'd not given them a heavy dose of spray - and groggily clambered down into the sewer. On our way back to the Hub, Toshiko called with details of a Rift opening and we headed straight over to Tremorfa and picked up pieces of what appeared to be an alien craft that had broken up in the atmosphere. It took two hours to locate them all and we got caught in the Cardiff rush hour for the second day running. It was nearing six o'clock when, carrying the crate containing the pieces between us, Owen and I entered the Hub to find Ianto making coffee and Duncan chatting to Toshiko.

"Hi, all finished?" I asked as we dumped the crate on the side.

"Uh huh. I was just saying how much tidier this place was looking and then you go and mess it up again," said Duncan with a smile.

"They're always doing that," replied Ianto, handing coffees to him and Toshiko. "It's like painting the Forth Rail Bridge, never-ending. I assume you'd like coffee?" he asked us.

"Gagging for one," agreed Owen, hanging up his jacket.

"Me too. The hotel look after you all right?" I asked, putting my greatcoat over the railing; I'd be needing it again soon.

"Very well. Wow, this is good!" exclaimed Duncan, sipping the coffee.

"Best in Cardiff," agreed Toshiko, grinning proudly.

"Be nice if I had one," grumbled Owen. "Hurry up, teaboy!" I was pretty sure he was teasing.

"It's coming," called Ianto and a few minutes later he walked across with three more mugs of his delicious brew.

We stood and sat around the work area, drinking and chatting but conscientiously avoiding the reason why Duncan was in town. The conversation flowed reasonably well and we managed to fill up twenty minutes without noticeable difficulty. Duncan helped with this, used to people being wary around him. He told us a few anecdotes of his visits to UNIT facilities which kept us all laughing.

"Okay," I said, putting down my mug, "I promised you dinner, Duncan. Ready?" I picked up greatcoat but was stopped by Ianto.

"Don't wear that, sir. If you leave it with me I'll mend that gash in the sleeve." He gently took the coat from me. "I'll get your jacket."

"Is there anything he can't do?" asked Duncan in admiration, looking after Ianto as he went into the office. "Barista, butler and now tailor."

"He's actually employed as our archivist," pointed out Toshiko. "He's got decades of backlog sorted in just a few weeks." She glanced at me and said, "Could I have a word before you go? Privately."

"Sure." We went to the office, meeting Ianto coming the other way. "Won't be a sec," I told him, shutting the door behind him. "Okay, Tosh, what's been on your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something's bothering you, I can tell. Has been all day. Spit it out, woman." I perched on the edge of the desk, dreading her saying she wanted to leave. I could replace Suzie, eventually, but Toshiko was genuinely one of a kind and I did not want to lose her.

"I really don't like to ask," she began hesitantly, "but it's important. To me, important to me."

"What is?"

"Could I have Saturday off?" she said in a rush. "I know we're under-strength and that it'll be a real pain for you and Owen, put lots of pressure on you, but my brother called and asked me to meet up and I haven't seen him for ages and I'd really like to go and - "

I stopped her before she expired from lack of air. "Of course you can, Tosh. We can manage." I grinned at her. "I can't expect you to work all day, every day. And family's important."

"Are you sure?" She looked very uncertain, frowning delightfully. "We're only going to do lunch and a show, he likes musicals and wants to go to _Mamma Mia_. It'd be a matinee. So I could come in early, before I get the train, and as soon as I get back to cover. Or we don't have to go to the show -"

"You will take the whole day off, Toshiko Sato." I was standing in front of her now, hands on her shoulders. "Go to London, see your brother and take in a show then go visit the rest of the family. We'll be fine."

I was so relieved that was all she was wanted, I hugged her and kissed her forehead. Through the glass wall, I saw Ianto and Owen looking at me warily, wondering what was going on. Let them wonder.

"Thanks, Jack, you're the best." She was smiling now, happy again. "I promise I'll be as up-to-date as I can be before then."

"Good. I am so relieved that's all it is. I thought you were going to say you wanted out." I released her and picked up the jacket Ianto had left on the visitor's chair. "I don't think we'd have survived that."

Her face was a picture of astonishment. "I don't want to leave, Jack. This is the best job ever. Even after the past few days, I still love it. Besides, I signed up for five years and I'm only half way."

"I'd never keep to you that, not if it got too much for you. You've done more in the past couple of years than even I expected. Now, I'd better get moving if Duncan's going to get home at a reasonable hour."

"Of course, don't let me hold you up."

Walking out into the Plass with Duncan, I was in a great mood and marvelled again at how lucky I had been to find Toshiko and to keep her.


	60. Chapter 60

_Thanks once again to all of you who are reading this story, and especially thanks for the reviews. Makes it all worthwhile - Jay_

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Strange Encounter

Chapter Sixty

At half past six Bellini's was still relatively quiet and Duncan and I got a table easily. The waitress, Liz, knew me well and gave us a table upstairs towards the back where we could talk without being overheard.

"Would you like something to drink while you look at the menu?" she asked cheerily.

"Lager for me, please," said Duncan, smiling up at her. "I don't mind which."

"And water for me."

She went off and we perused the menu. With Duncan still having a long journey ahead of him, we didn't want to linger and so chose simple, quick dishes. I ordered tortellini with spinach and he went for ravioli with mushrooms; a side order of garlic bread for us both completed the meal. With the drinks in our hands and the order placed, I looked across at him assessing how much he would tell me about his sessions with the others. Not much, I suspected, but I needed some indication of their state of mind. I had to keep the team focussed and its morale high.

"So, how did it go?" I asked.

"Good. You have a good team." He sipped his lager, looking round before returning his gaze to me and sighing. "They were confidential discussions, Jack."

"I know. So just give me the bottom line; are they going to be okay? Is there anything I have to be aware of? Anything to look out for? I don't want to lose another of them, Duncan."

He thought for a moment then smiled. "All right, I'll tell you what I can. In fact, I don't think there's much that you don't already know. Owen is the easiest. He's angry, at Suzie and himself, but he's already getting over that. There's some guilt too."

"He's got nothing to feel guilty about. God, we all missed what was happening to her."

"That's not what he feels guilty about." That got my attention. "He feels he's let you down."

I sat back, surprised. "You sure?"

Duncan nodded and smiled at my reaction. "He may not show it but he's very proud of working for you. Bottom line with him is … you don't have to worry." He took another drink. "Toshiko is … a little more complex. She's trying to move on but Suzie's loss has raised other issues for her, ones you'll have to address, sooner or later."

This alarmed me but before I could say anything, Liz appeared with our meal and there was the usual reorganisation of the table to make room for everything. When we were alone again I asked, "What issues?"

He paused, tearing off some garlic bread and chewing it before replying. "She's quite a lonely woman. The person who best understood and shared her work is now gone. She fears being isolated within the team, stuck in the Hub on her own. And she's also the only female."

I chewed my mouthful of food and thought about what he had said. It would be very easy for Toshiko to be our Hub-based technical backup, Owen had said as much already. While that would keep her safe, or at least safer, it was obviously not what she wanted. My plans for getting her and Owen to specialise were blown out of the water. In truth, they had probably been unworkable anyway; the team was too small to support specialists. Both of them would be needed on operations and should take their fair share.

"I see," I said finally. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"I presume you'll be looking to replace Suzie in due course. You may want to consider a woman."

"I want the best person. The one with the right skills and the best fit for the team, regardless of gender."

"Of course, but if you have a choice just bear it in mind."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. I mulled over the options. The team's medical, science and technology expertise were supplied by Owen and Toshiko, and Ianto provided superb administrative and organisational backup. What was lacking were Suzie's people and investigative skills which had made her the obvious liaison point for Whitehall and local authorities. If I could find someone with those skills who would also make a good field operative the team would be back to strength. UNIT personnel would be good in the field but not good at the liaison; maybe I needed to look at other sources. And I needed to bring Toshiko into the team more. I remembered her offer of a meal; perhaps I should pursue that, build some social links within the team. It could be done but I'd have to work on it. For the first time in decades I hoped The Doctor would not appear until I'd had time to settle the team.

"And Ianto?" I asked finally. "You had a long session with him."

"Longer than I expected. From what you and Owen had told me about him I thought he'd be defensive and unresponsive but he was generally receptive. Not that we talked all the time." He smiled. "We went for a walk round the Bay."

I grinned. "He knows a lot about the city, useful when he's in the Tourist Office."

"Is there no end to his talents?" he joked.

"I could tell you of a few more but you probably don't want to hear about our sex life."

He laughed. "I haven't got the time, Jack!" He took another forkful of his ravioli and chewed.

"Seriously, how is he?" I asked, taking some more garlic bread. This was crucial. I could bring in another operative but Ianto's organisational skills had become vital to the smooth running of the team, and would be particularly so during a period of adjustment for a new person. And, regardless of work concerns, I wanted to keep him close and help him come to terms with his demons.

"Troubled. He's not addressed Canary Wharf yet, or the loss of his girlfriend. And on top of that he's … well, he has baggage from earlier."

"What do you mean?" I was worried now.

"I'm saying that his background was not all rosy." He leant forward. "Look, Jack, I've only just met the man and barely touched on these issues. From the little he let slip it appears that the family was, let's say, dysfunctional."

"Was he abused?" My food lay untouched as I concentrated on what Duncan was saying. I had put Ianto's state of mind down to his time at Torchwood One and the aftermath, now it seemed it had started much earlier.

"No, not in the way you're thinking. But his upbringing … set Ianto on a path that he's still on."

"What the heck does that mean!? Just tell me, is he safe to have around?" I demanded. The Hub was full of weapons and artefacts that in the wrong hands could cause a lot of damage. I couldn't have anyone who was unstable near them, not after what had happened to Suzie. I was not going to take any kind of risk with Ianto, he meant too much to me.

"Doing what he's doing, in the Hub, he'll be fine. On operations … I'd be less confident. Ianto is not going to go on a murderous rampage, Jack, nor is he a danger to himself or your team. You can relax on that score. He's got issues that need to be addressed, should have been addressed a long time ago. That's why he's withdrawn into himself, developed some obsessive compulsive traits, and in my opinion he'd find it hard to cope with the stress of fieldwork. He knows this, said he told you he didn't want to do it."

"Yeah, he did. I thought it was just the reminder of Canary Wharf."

He took a sip of beer. "There's that as well. He's been through a lot and will need help to overcome it. We've made tentative arrangements to meet again when I come down for my regular UNIT sessions. I strongly recommend he talks to someone, even if it isn't me."

"You carry on. This a big step for him, he was really unsure about seeing anyone." I ate the last of the pasta, thinking hard about all Duncan had told me. "Can you help him?"

"I think so, given time and his cooperation. He told me you two have talked, says that it's helpful. You should carry on with that, don't stop just because I'll be seeing him."

"I never know if I'm saying the right thing," I admitted, using a piece of garlic bread to wipe up the pasta sauce.

"Then just listen. You've been around long enough to give good advice but even if you say nothing, it'll help."

"Okay. How often are you going to meet?"

"Once a month. It suits my schedule and that's ample at present. He's got my number if he wants to talk at any other time." Duncan sat back and drank the last of his lager. "And how are you after our chat this morning?"

This guy never gives up. "Good. You were right, Suzie did manipulate us so that she would die."

"So no more guilt?"

"Not about not being in the Hub. She took her own life because that's what she wanted; it was her choice to die and it would have happened whether I'd been there or not. But I gave her the Glove and missed all the signs that it was affecting her. I let her down. I'm guilty of that."

He gave me a long look but said nothing which, I think, meant he agreed. I didn't pursue it, I have so much guilt already that this little bit more will - eventually - barely be noticed. This day had been worthwhile for me and, I hoped, for the others too. Now we had to build on it and ensure we learnt from what had happened and not let it pull us down. It had to make us stronger.

I put Duncan in a taxi and sent him off to catch his train. It was starting to get dark as I crossed the Plass, thinking of spending some time with Ianto once I'd sent the others home. Descending on the lift, I saw Toshiko and Owen with the pieces of spaceship (or whatever) we had found that afternoon spread around them on the floor. They appeared to be piecing it together, like a jigsaw puzzle. Ianto was sitting at his desk, a bright light shining on his lap where he was mending my greatcoat at the same time as keeping an eye on the other two and joining in a discussion of the best pubs in Cardiff. It was reassuring to see them happily engaged in their tasks and getting on so well together.

"What are you two doing?" I asked Owen and Toshiko, sauntering past Ianto and standing looking down at the mess they'd created.

"Putting Humpty together again!" announced Owen with a grin. He had a beer bottle in his hand but was not drunk.

"Sorry, Jack," put in Toshiko apologetically. "I thought this might be a Ottuswde probe and Owen suggested we find out. We should have waited for you to get back. Sorry."

"I don't mind," I assured her, patting her shoulder. I was pleased they had taken the initiative. "Is it?"

"I think so. There are some anomalies. Like this nacelle and that fuel injector." She pointed at the relevant pieces. "But the overall design and components are compatible with what we know of Ottuswe technology."

"Umm." I agreed with her, it did. "Good work. If you two want to get off, we can finish this tomorrow."

"Great idea." Owen upended his beer bottle and drank the last of the contents.

Toshiko was less keen but glanced from me to Ianto and quite clearly decided I wanted to have some time alone with him. I could almost hear the connections being made; she's transparent at times. She smiled conspiratorily before going to her desk and packing up. I took a pace towards Owen and got his attention.

"Owen," I said quietly so as not to be overheard, "take her out somewhere. Make her forget about the last couple of days."

"Me?" He was surprised rather than protesting, looking over at her as she cleared her desk.

"She's been on her own a lot. Just … take her for a drink. Give her a chance to enjoy herself."

He thought about it a moment, looking serious, before nodding and said, "Sure. Leave it to me." He made for the work area, dumping his bottle in a bin on the way. "Hey, Tosh, how about a drink and a game of pool? We could try The Wharf."

I watched as her expression changed from startled to suspicious to pleased in the space of just a few moments. It was wonderful to see and I was grinning at the success of my ploy when, five minutes later, the pair of them went out of the cog door with a cheery wave for Ianto and me. Putting my jacket over a chair, I strolled back past the bits of Ottuswe probe to lean on Ianto's desk and checked his needlework. The gash in the greatcoat sleeve was barely detectable.

"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked, watching him secure the last few stitches and cut the thread.

"Misspent youth." He smiled as he said this, glancing up before checking his handiwork. "How was your meal?"

"Good. We went to Bellini's. Had pasta."

Ianto stood up, folding the coat tidily over his arm. "What did you talk about?" There was no mistaking the challenge in his voice even though he spoke quietly.

"Ohhh, this and that. Duncan told me you gave him a tour of the Bay. Maybe we should offer them as an extra service from the Tourist Office."

I straightened up, grinning, but knew I'd played it wrong. He didn't want fatuous comments, probably wondered if I still wanted him around if Duncan had told me the extent of his problems. He regarded me steadily for a moment, sighed and headed to the work area without a word.

"Ianto," I called after him and he stopped on the steps. "Your chat was confidential. He told me nothing."

He had turned to face me. "You expect me to believe that you spent a couple of hours with Duncan and didn't get something out of him? I'm not stupid, Jack."

I wasn't sure how to answer this so said nothing. If I said we had talked Ianto would get mad. If I lied he'd know it and get mad. This was a lose-lose situation. Ianto let out an exasperated sigh and walked off to the office where he hung up the greatcoat. I followed but stopped by the coffee table, waiting for him to come back out.

"Don't do this, Ianto. I'm not in the mood." A sudden tightness in my throat took me by surprise and I swallowed hard.

"Nor am I!"

"Please, don't." I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were forming. For two days I'd carried on, supporting the team, and now it was catching up with me. I felt so very weary and as I looked at him I was vaguely aware of the tear running down my cheek. "I lost a friend on Sunday night. I recruited Suzie, trained her and loved her. And because I messed up and gave her that damned Glove she's dead. Okay, yes, Duncan told me a little. Enough to ensure it won't happen again, that I won't mess up and lose any more of you. Because I don't want to live with that."

I turned from him and went to Toshiko's desk. Sitting down, I tried to check the Rift predictor but couldn't see much. This was not how I had envisaged the evening. My plans for comforting Ianto had gone out the window; I just hoped Owen was having more luck with Toshiko. Maybe I should have sent Ianto with him too but I was selfish enough to want the boy close. Wiping at my eyes, I pulled myself together and concentrated on the screen. Above the whirr of the machinery, I could hear Ianto's breathing and then his hesitant footsteps as he came to stand behind me.

"Would you like a coffee?"

"No. Thank you." I didn't look round, staring at the screen but seeing nothing.

"Whisky?"

"No. Thank you."

"Blow job?" I couldn't contain the small laugh which encouraged him to put his hand on my shoulder, gently swinging the chair round so I faced him. "I'm sorry, Jack."

Reaching for him, I clumsily pulled him onto my knee and he ended up straddling me with my head resting on his shoulder. We sat like that for several minutes, arms around one another. Then I took a deep breath and looked into his face. "Duncan didn't tell me any details of what you two talked about. He did say you'd arranged to meet again, which is good."

"Yeah. You were right about that." He paused. "Maybe you need to talk to him too," he said hesitantly.

"I did. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Of course I worry about you!" He tightened his hold on me. "I've never seen you like this, Jack. You're always so strong, so positive. You're my rock."

"And I will be, for as long as you need me." I smiled up at him, his head just a little higher than mine. "Now, did you say something about a blow job?"


	61. Chapter 61

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty One

I got my blow job, there in the work area. We repaired to Ianto's room after that, not talking, just touching, and threw ourselves into some vigorous lovemaking. I lost myself in him and forgot all my other cares and concerns, happy to spend time with this complicated, handsome and sexually satisfying man. When we were done, he lay sprawled on the bed with arms and legs any which way and a contented smile on his lips.

"Come here." He held out his arms and I fell into them, happy to be held by him. "None of this was your fault, Jack," he said while running a hand through my hair. "You didn't know what would happen."

"I should have. That's my job."

"You're not God. And we're all responsible for ourselves. Suzie must have known something was wrong, she should have come to you. Or Owen."

I was silent a long time. It was kind of him to say that but it wasn't true. I was the leader and the responsibility was mine but, I admitted to myself, there was no point in beating myself up over it. It was done and I had to move on, like I had done many times in the past. "Maybe you're right. Right now, I'm more concerned that you're okay." I raised my head from his chest and looked into his blue eyes.

He chuckled and his hand cupped my cheek. "I'm no worse than I was. I was mixed up enough before, believe me!"

"Do you want to talk about it? Duncan said that -"

"Oh, so he did say something, did he?" he teased, smiling at me. "So much for this silent meal!"

"He just said you might want to talk to me, like we have been doing. If you do, it's okay with me." Stretching up, I placed a kiss on his receptive lips and we stayed locked together for a few moments as our tongues explored.

"Right now," he said, tightening his grip on my shoulders, "I have other things in mind." He twisted and I let myself be turned onto my back and welcomed him on top of me, our lips connecting again.

I was woken from a doze by my wrist-strap beeping. Turning it off, I checked the display, twisting towards the lamp always kept burning in this otherwise totally dark room. The Rift had opened again. I eased out of the bed as carefully as I could but Ianto woke anyway.

"What is it?" he asked sleepily.

"Rift opening. I'm going upstairs to check it out." I reached for my trousers and boots.

"Use the computer here," he offered, yawning, waving in the general direction of the equipment we'd set up the day before.

"Okay." A few minutes was enough to show I had to go out. The opening, in the city centre, was small enough and there were no signs of major disturbance as a result but better to be safe than sorry. "I have to go check it out. Go back to sleep."

He struggled to sit up. "Want me to come?"

"No." I had my T-shirt and shirt on now. "I'll call Owen if I need backup."

"Be careful. I don't want to have to mend your coat again."

With a laugh and a quick kiss, I left the room and went up to the work area. A further check revealed nothing new and I got my gear together and went out. The night was cold and dark and I turned the SUV's heater up full blast. Ten minutes later, I had parked and was striding down Westgate Street. The Millennium Stadium towered on my left, black against the night sky. All sports arenas are rather eerie when they're not being used, especially at night, and this one was no different especially with the ring of antennae-like buttresses all around it. I've never liked the building but had stopped saying anything after the fifth beefy rugby-type had punched me; the Welsh are mighty proud of it. Scanning the area, I realised the opening had been inside the stadium's precincts. I suppose I could have scaled the wall but instead went for the easy option and walked further round to the gatehouse and asked politely to go inside.

My politeness worked. The guard – Len - called on his colleague, Steve, a handsome young man, to accompany me and we went off into the bowels of the building. It took half an hour to find the site of the opening and another twenty minutes to catch the Eddykk. It was fun chasing the small green furry alien about the size of a kitten with the help of a well-built and fit companion. I was tempted to extend the search to Steve's person but held back; I had Ianto waiting for me back at the base.

"So, what's that then?" asked Len when we returned to the gatehouse, hot and bothered by the chase.

"An alien. It's called an Eddykk," I told them as Steve made us a cup of coffee.

"Stop pulling my leg," he said. No one ever believed the truth which is why I – usually - don't bother to lie.

He reached a finger and stroked it tentatively. I was holding it securely and it didn't object, relaxed actually, so when he wanted to hold it I let him. With Steve cooing over it too – what is it with big tough men and small furry animals? – I was able to slip the Retcon into their coffees without them noticing. We sat for half an hour, drinking the coffee and having a chinwag, until they both dozed off. I put the Eddykk in an empty box Steve had found for it and washed up my coffee mug. It was pity they'd forget me, I'd enjoyed the chat.

With the Eddykk asleep in the box on the passenger seat, I pointed the SUV towards the Hub and drove through the deserted streets listening to the radio. It was a pop tune, one I didn't know but it had a pleasing rhythm and I was nodding my head in time to the beat. It was probably Owen's choice of station, he seemed to like this sort of thing, and he had been in the SUV last. It had better be Toshiko's turn tomorrow, or her and Owen, if she was to be included in the team as Duncan had suggested. Not that I wanted there to be any reason for us to be out in the SUV. A quiet day when we could catch our breath and get on with the mundane day-to-day stuff would be great.

In the garage, I picked up the box and took the sleeping Eddykk inside. They were harmless enough creatures, non-sentient, and for once a pleasing exterior accurately reflected a friendly nature. As long as it was fed and watered and kept amused, it would be fine. I'd get Owen to check it over but otherwise we could keep it as a pet. Checking my watch, I saw it was three forty and hesitated by the work area. Bed or office? No contest really. Bed, with Ianto in it, would always win. I didn't stop to hang up my coat and took the Eddykk with me - I couldn't leave it around Myfanwy until we'd introduced them – and continued downstairs. And there was Ianto, lying on the bed all tangled up in the duvet and looking young and gorgeous.

I closed the door, put the box on a chair - the Eddykk would be safe enough if it woke up – and stripped off, slipping into the bed beside the sleeping boy.

"Huh! Nmmna!"

Halted in my plans to curl round him by the unexpected and odd noises he was making, I waited, watching. Then Ianto thrashed out a leg and his heel connected with my knee. It hurt!

"No! Leave her!" he called.

An arm came my way this time and I grabbed it, pulling him towards me and holding him tight. He struggled, making more weird noises and a few recognisable words, as he fought against me. I held on, trying to keep him still so he didn't harm himself, and earned a few whacks to the arms and shoulders until I could get both his arms pinned within my hold. He writhed about, muttering some more, but gradually he calmed and his eyes opened, staring into mine from only a few inches away.

"Jack?" He was obviously disorientated, blinking and trying to focus on me.

"It's okay now. You had a nightmare." I relaxed my hold but he stayed close, settling against me. "It's okay," I soothed, rubbing a hand up his back. "What was it this time?"

"The same. Cybermen." He snuggled even closer. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I said yet again. Had to come up with something more original! "I'm here for you, Ianto, and you're safe. You're safe with me."

"I know." He was quiet for a few minutes. "Your feet are cold."

"I've only just got back."

"The Rift!" He jerked backwards to look at me. "Any problems?"

"No. All sorted." I kissed him, couldn't resist when he was so close. "I've come to claim my reward."

"What reward?" He was suspicious now but I swear there was a twinkle in his eye.

"This."

This kiss was long, deep and penetrating and led to all sorts of other lovely action. Took his mind off Cybermen, that's for sure. When we were done we curled up together, his back to my front, and slept. We woke up that way too, neither of us had moved for a couple of hours which is unusual for us. Guess we were both more tired than normal. Ianto woke first and his shout woke me. That and the way he sat up so fast.

"What the fuck!?"

With him out of the way I was face to face with the Eddykk. The little creature had joined us on the bed; I suppose finding a green alien on your pillow would make most people wake up real fast. It was shivering with fright, frozen into place by Ianto's shout and sudden movement.

"It's okay," I said – really have to expand my vocabulary! – reaching out and stroking the little creature. "No one's going to hurt you."

"Oh, that's right! Don't bother about scaring the shit out of me!" protested Ianto.

I had a firm hold on the Eddykk now and cradled it against me. It was far from relaxed but the shivers were lessening. "You? Scared of a little thing like this?" I grinned up at him, letting the Eddykk rest on my chest as I lay on my back.

"What is it?"

"An Eddykk. It won't harm you. It's what came through the Rift last night." I could see Ianto become interested. "Want to hold it?"

"Okay." He held out a hand and I placed the green furball on his palm. He stroked it with his other hand while scrutinising it carefully. "Is it sentient?"

"No." I propped myself up on one elbow and smiled as he became engrossed in the little creature. "It may have some empathic traits, most species are calmed by it, but it can't do much else."

Ianto scrabbled round and sat with his back to the headboard, cross-legged, with the Eddykk in a fold of the duvet on his lap. "Tell me about him."

"Don't know where they come from. They're kept as pets on a lot of worlds, every species I've ever come across likes them." I stroked its head, which was very kittenish with small pointed ears, dinky mouth and large, light-green eyes. The rest of its round body, like its head, was covered in dark green fur with some lighter stripes over the back.

"How does he get about?" Ianto had picked it up and was looking underneath. "He doesn't have legs."

"These." I pointed out the half dozen stubby protuberances, in three pairs one behind the other, on its underside hidden by the fur. "I'll show you." Taking the creature, I put it down the bed, facing us. "Call it."

"Come here, Eddy," Ianto cooed softly, holding out a hand to encourage it. I suppose it was inevitable it would get a name and Eddy was the obvious one. "Look, he's moving!" Ianto grinned with delight as Eddy propelled himself forward using the front two protuberances, then the others in much the same way as a caterpillar or some snakes. "Wow, he can move fast." The creature was in Ianto's lap again.

"Yeah, have to keep an eye on them. But once they're settled they can stay put for hours on end. The natives on Galidiad Minor use them to teach their young how to stay still and be quiet."

"What do they eat? And can we keep him?" His expression was anxious and I laughed out loud.

It was the same way Alice had looked at me when, at age three, I'd given her a kitten of her very own. That had been when Lucia and I had been living together and things were going well between us. It didn't last. The kitten had not grown much before Lucia had turfed me out - again. We'd got back together a couple of times more after that but never for long. The memory of the kitten had stayed with Alice though and had been a point of contact between us when we'd met up again years later. I had been glad at the time as there were not many happy memories to look back on.

I realised I'd not answered Ianto and he was looking at me curiously. "They eat fish or meat and yes, we can keep it."

"Good. How do you know all this about them?" He was stroking Eddy and his question was artfully asked, innocent and yet hoping I would reveal more of myself with the answer. I was not going to be caught out that easily.

"It's in the archives. There have been others that have come through the Rift." I looked across at the clock and saw it was gone seven. "Time to get moving."

We showered together, all three of us. Eddykk's love water – their fur repels it - and Eddy was quite happy to join us. We just had to be careful not to step on him though when he climbed up the wall it got easier. Having him with us cramped my style as Ianto was too intent on him to respond to my advances. He preferred the blessed thing to me! I felt even more unloved up in the work area; Ianto was fussing with Eddy when he should have been making my morning coffee and breakfast! I finally got a burned piece of toast plonked on my desk half an hour after I'd retreated there. The coffee was promised but as Toshiko showed up then and went into raptures about Eddy it didn't materialise.

I resigned myself to doing some work and checked my personal alerts; with all that had been going on lately they had been overlooked. Two more people had disappeared in the Brecon Beacons. Lance and Sherree McElvoy, Americans in their fifties, had been on holiday in Llandovery and not returned to their hotel after a day touring the area. An extensive police search over the past forty eight hours had found their hire car in a lay-by on the A483 but there was no trace of the McElvoys. I added the details to the file. This made six people known to have disappeared in the area over the past two months. Something had to be going on up there, this couldn't be natural. But when I checked the monitors for the time of the latest disappearances there was nothing alien. It also wasn't the Rift taking them as there were none of the tell-tale negative spikes. I was still puzzling over it when Ianto came in and put my striped mug on the desk.

"Sorry, Jack, here's your coffee."

"About time." I reached for it, the aroma tantalising my taste buds. "What have you done with Eddy?"

"He's with Tosh. See?" He turned and looked out into the work area. Following his gaze, I saw Toshiko at her desk facing us with Eddy curled up on her knee. She gave us a little wave before carefully rotating her chair, making sure not to disturb him, and returning to work.

"He'd better not interfere with her work. Or yours."

"He won't. I thought we could put him in the room we set up for the Tenquoo. He'd be safe there and should like the toys we rigged up."

"Good idea. But we need to get some work done first."

"I know. Tosh is happy to look after him until Owen gets in and looks him over. Their evening went well, by the way," he added quietly with a grin.

"Did it?" I eyed Toshiko again and noticed a certain … glow about her. "Did they …?"

"Don't know. I couldn't really ask," admitted Ianto. "And don't you!" He knew I'd have no hesitation in asking if they'd made it into bed together. "When I've cleaned up, I'll take the budget files to the Tourist Office and start looking through them."

"Excellent." That put me in a happier mood immediately. I'd still have the meetings every month but any time spent with Ianto always held the promise of a shag. "I'll be having a team meeting later on, providing the Rift stays quiet."

"Okay, just give me a call."

With a smile he was gone, heading for the kitchen to get the ubiquitous black sacks for the rubbish. He stopped for a word with Toshiko on the way, stroked Eddy and was actually whistling when I lost sight of him.


	62. Chapter 62

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Two

I was surprised to see Owen as captivated by Eddy and the others. He rolled in around nine thirty and spent ages in the medical bay with the little creature. Toshiko and I had sorted out the Ottuswde probe and were now continuing our quest for the Cyberman which seemed to have gone on for weeks instead of just ten days, checking over old footage of the place in Lampeter and tossing ideas around. I paced up and down, throwing out suggestions while she sat at her desk and checked them – or shot them down in flames when I let my imagination run away with me. As I passed the entrance to the medical bay I could see Owen and the Eddykk at the examination table. Initially, Owen was running tests and analyses but later I saw he was playing with it. Owen!

"Tosh," I said quietly, "come look at this."

I nodded towards the bay and she got up and joined me by the railing looking down. We'd been as quiet as we could and it was several minutes before Owen sensed we were there. His head shot up and the Eddykk undulated forward and 'pounced' on the ping pong ball Owen had been rolling towards it.

"What!?" Owen tried to look affronted but we weren't fooled.

"What are you doing?" I asked conversationally, aware of Toshiko sniggering beside me.

"Seeing how co-ordinated he is. Good test this." He went pink round the ears as he blustered away for a minute or two, attempting to convince us of the scientific value of playing ball with Eddy.

"Admit it, Owen," said Toshiko, ending his ramblings, "you like playing with him as much as the rest of us." She walked down the steps and crouched down until her head was level with the examination table and therefore with Eddy. "'Cos you're cute, aren't you?" She was stroking the Eddykk so I assume she was talking to him but there again she could have meant Owen.

"No, really, I was testing -"

"You were playing, Owen." Toshiko picked up Eddy, who was clinging to the ball. His little 'feet' have some kind of adhesive quality, that's how they can climb walls. She cuddled him to her chest and sent Owen a challenging look.

"All right. Have your fun," he said grudgingly.

"No, you were the one having fun," I pointed out. "It's half ten. The Rift's quiet so I'd like a team meeting in half an hour. Tosh, get the update on Lampeter ready. Owen, you can tell us about Eddy's co-ordination," Toshiko sniggered again, "and we can have a general discussion of anything else that's going on. I suppose I ought to make a list," I sighed. This was where Suzie had been so valuable, always on top of everything that was going on and ready to remind us when progress was slow.

"Teaboy's good at lists," remarked Owen. "Seen the one in the kitchen?"

"That's a good idea." Toshiko had taken the ping pong ball from Eddy and put him in a cat's carrying box which Ianto had found from somewhere. It was lined with an old towel and had a dropper arrangement that released water if he sucked on it. "How else is he going to know what's in the fridge?"

"Uh, look?" Owen rolled his eyes and continued packing away the equipment he'd been using.

"We're one down, Owen. He's got better things to do than check the fridge!"

They were sounding like an old married couple and I left them to it. I'd still not discovered what had happened on their night out but had high hopes that during the meeting, or maybe over lunch, I'd be able to find out. I slipped up the stairs to the Tourist Office. I had to wait a few minutes looking at the CCTV feed before opening the door as Ianto dealt with a couple of teenage girls who were giggling and flirting with him. I wanted to send them packing with a flea in their ears but had to wait until they finally left of their own accord, handfuls of leaflets and brochures in their hands as well as some of the little stuffed dragons.

"They should be in school," I said as I walked through the secret door.

"What?" He looked up from the till. "They work round the corner, in the new burger bar."

"Huh. Then what are they doing in here flirting with you? They should be working."

"It's their break. Are you jealous, sir?" A little smile teased round his mouth.

"No." I felt as Owen must have done when Toshiko and I were teasing him so quickly changed the subject. "Meeting at eleven. You can update us on the budget … if you've had time to look at it between visits from simpering teenagers."

"You are jealous." He was grinning now, delighted at the thought.

"Maybe. Think you'd better reassure me." I leant on the counter.

"And how could I do that, sir?" He was quite close and also leant his elbows on the counter facing me, only inches between us.

I was about to show him when the public door opened behind me and he stood up, the mood lost. Twisting round, I saw it was a middle-aged couple wearing matching sweaters and grey trousers. Tourists! Sweeping me out of the way, the woman moved forward and in a strident New York accent starting asking lots of detailed questions about the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay. I hovered to one side and listened as Ianto politely answered her, directing her to the display at The Tube and selling her a book on the subject. It took him ten minutes to get rid of her and her husband – who never said a word – and by then the mood had changed and I didn't get the kiss and grope I'd been hoping for. Instead, we closed up the Office and went downstairs to get ready for the meeting.

We gathered in the Boardroom, the four of us and Eddy. Toshiko put his box on a chair and would have let him out but I stopped her. We needed to concentrate, not be diverted by his antics. Ianto was my unexpected ally in this as he did not want to have to clean the glass walls once Eddy had climbed all over them. Sitting at the head of the table, mugs of coffee before us, I looked round at my team and nodded in satisfaction. We were going to be all right.

"Right, kids, lets get started. First, I hope you all found yesterday useful. I know I did. Whatever was discussed with Duncan is between you and him and if you want to talk to him again, you've got his number. Alternatively, if there's anything you want to talk to me about, or to one another, that's fine too. Okay?" They nodded and made noises I took for agreement so moved on. "There are a couple of tasks of Suzie's that have to be reallocated now. Ianto has agreed to take on the budget support and he'll update us on that later."

Owen chuckled. "Thank God I got out of that. Bleeding nightmare, that is." Ianto looked a bit startled but I carried on before he could respond.

"Then you'll be pleased to hear that I want you, Owen, to be our liaison with UNIT and the police."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes. They need a point of contact, Owen, and you're it. For now anyway. Here's a list of your opposite numbers. Ring them over the next couple of days and introduce yourself." I handed him the laminated sheet I'd found in the box of files of folders.

"Do I have to?" he grumbled, taking the sheet. "You know I'm useless at this stuff."

I ignored him. "I'll do all the contact with Whitehall and the intelligence agencies. Tosh, you'll be our rep on UNIT's scientific group. The papers are in here." I handed her a thick file. "It meets once a quarter, the next one's a couple of months away so you've time to read up on it. Make sure the secretary knows to invite you."

"Okay. But I'm not very good at meetings." I was hoping attending the meetings would boost her self-confidence; she knew so much more than her counterparts.

"We'll go over it beforehand, don't worry." I smiled to reassure her but she still looked troubled. "As I said before, I'm looking for a new team member so I don't want to make any other changes right now. I'm hoping I'll be able to find someone soon and it would be daft to have reorganise everything again. Now, let's get on with work. Ianto, do you want to say anything about the budget?"

"Not a great deal. I've had a quick look at the papers and it looks reasonably straightforward. I'm going to go through it in more detail and I expect I'll have to check things with you all."

"Be helpful, guys." I pointedly looked at Owen who ignored me. "Requests for equipment and such should now go to Ianto who'll check them with me. Okay?" They nodded and Ianto indicated he'd finished. "Owen, how's your Weevil study coming along?"

"Still getting good stuff from it. They're definitely telepathic. I want to run one more test on them, this afternoon if I can, then I'll collate the results for you."

"Good. Let's aim to release all but Janet tomorrow."

"Okay by me." Owen looked over at Eddy who was curled up, sleeping. "The little furball's healthy if you're aiming on keeping it."

"Of course we are!" said Toshiko. "Aren't we, Jack?"

I'd have had a mutiny if I'd tried to take the thing away from them. "Yeah, he can stay. Just watch him round Myfanwy."

"You were going to introduce them," Ianto reminded me. "And Tosh and I'll sort out the Tenquoo's old room so it's safe for him."

The discussion got sidetracked as we all pitched in ideas about ways of keeping Eddy safe and amused. I managed, eventually, to get it back onto work. "Tosh, why don't you update the others on what we've been doing?"

"Sure. Jack and I have been tracing the Cyberman. Nothing definite yet but this small furniture factory-come-garden centre in Lampeter," she brought up the satellite images, "belongs to the same company that owned the one in Epping Forest. Parker's company. It has a large unused building at the back that's guarded round the clock."

"We going up there?" asked Owen.

"Not yet," I replied. "We're going to keep watch a bit longer but Tosh did come up with one idea." I nodded at her and she took up the story.

"The place is open to the public so we could visit quite legitimately and take a few discreet scans. Being that much closer, we should get a better feel for the place."

"As Tosh wasn't at Epping and she's our whizz on the scanners, she's the obvious choice," I put in, "but I don't want her going alone."

"Me I suppose," sighed Owen. "Where the hell's Lampeter?"

"No, you were at Epping and they've probably got you, and me, on tape." I looked at Ianto and raised an eyebrow. "Feel like a trip?" I didn't want to put him under pressure, especially after what Duncan had told me, but this was a simple exercise. I planned to have a quiet word with Toshiko before they went too, to alert her to my concerns.

"It won't be dangerous, Ianto," said Toshiko with a smile. "We can pretend to be garden designers looking for inspiration, that's if anyone bothers to ask us."

"All right," he agreed, with a smile. "When do you want to go?"

"I thought Friday. It gives us another couple of days to monitor the place." She brought up a map of Wales. "It'll take a couple of hours to get there and I'd like to be there mid-morning. We could leave early."

With that agreed, we moved on. Ianto ran through some of the things he had found on our alerts and the websites we regularly monitored. _Dark Talk_ had more about Weevils but we couldn't stop that, there were too many of them round the city to prevent all speculation. The police were continuing their investigation of the murders and getting nowhere. We agreed there was nothing we could do to head them off. However, it did remind me of the young policewoman that had been so passionate about finding the killer. I wonder …

"Jack? Did you hear me?"

My attention was brought back to the meeting by Toshiko. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"The build up of Antilositic energy in Rhiwbina, it's continuing. I've found the source. It's a small clothing factory on Heol Nant Castan and there's something odd going on there." She had our attention now. "It's owned by Aled and Dilys Evans but run by their son, Howell."

"I know that place," said Ianto, sitting forward to peer at the screen where Toshiko had brought up the factory's website. "I worked there, in my holidays from uni."

"Really?" She flashed him a speculative smile. "Then you may be able to explain this. The place made coats and jackets for years until December last year when production ceased. The Evans' paid off their creditors, just, and the place was idle until two months ago. It now makes sheepskin coats, three hundred a week, and Howell Evans has been putting five grand a week into the company account. One only he has access to."

"It ran down because Aled had a stroke and Dilys couldn't keep it going on her own. They're good people and I'm not surprised they made sure there were no debts. Howell?" Ianto shrugged. "Never liked him. He's flash, always after something for nothing."

"That's what I thought. He has a couple of convictions for trading without a licence and is friendly with burglars and fences." She brought up an aerial view of the factory, a long thin building set on an old residential estate that had seen better days. "The first traces of Antilositic energy appeared at the same time the factory started up again. It was faint at first but has built up considerably since."

"Isn't that the stuff aliens give off?" queried Owen. He was leaning back in his chair, almost horizontal, twirling a pen between his fingers.

"Some of them," I confirmed. "What are the levels?"

Toshiko was ready with the answer. "One hundred and ninety ppm. That's not dangerously high but it's a good indicator of alien lifeforms. Do you think he could be farming them?"

"Tosh, is this live?" asked Ianto, gazing at the screen.

"Yeah."

"And the factory is in production right now?"

"Yes. What are you getting at, Ianto?" She was looking at the screen herself.

"Where are the cars?"

"What cars?" Owen stopped his twirling and stared at Ianto. "What are you on about, teaboy?"

"The workers' cars. To make three hundred odd coats a week you need a workforce of at least fifty people. They need to get to work somehow yet the car park is empty." It was, just one red sports car was parked out front which I assumed belonged to Howell Evans.

"Maybe they came on the bus," persisted Owen which earned him a pitying look from Ianto.

"Tosh, check the footage for arrivals and departures," I ordered. "Let's see who goes in and out."

Running the footage for the past forty eight hours, a Monday and Tuesday, we found one delivery of a large quantity of fleeces which the driver and his mate unloaded. Howell Evans arrived each morning in his sports car and departed around four in the afternoon. That was it, no workers went in to or out of the factory in two days. So who was making the coats?

"He must be using aliens," concluded Toshiko, returning the screen to the live feed. She tapped away at the keyboard in front of her. "Impossible to tell what they might be without some more detailed scans."

"You keep on with that," I told her. "It doesn't look like it's increasing very quickly so we have time. Might wander up that way later, take a look around."

"Wouldn't there be guards or something?" queried Ianto. "I mean, the aliens aren't going to work for him willingly. Are they?"

"Some would. There are plenty of races who would trade labour for necessities but I can't imagine young Mr Evans being a reliable employer. Sooner or later he'll not need them any longer and get rid of them. Or he's forcing them to work for him. Whichever, better to sort it now rather than later."

The meeting continued for another ten minutes or so before breaking up. Ianto went off to order lunch – we'd settled on Indian – and Toshiko returned to her desk. Owen lingered until they'd gone.

"Did Duncan give you anything on Ianto?" he asked.

"Not a lot. But they're meeting again in a few weeks, when Duncan's back down this way."

"That's good. Is he all right?" I liked this caring Owen, he seemed genuinely concerned.

"Getting there. A nightmare last night but he didn't seem as bothered by it as in the past. How was Tosh?"

"Bit mixed up. Wants to blame Suzie but she's too soft to be angry with her." Owen grinned. "Plays a mean game of pool. Wiped the floor with me!"

"How did your evening end?" If anyone was going to tell me, it would be Owen.

"Mind your own bloody business!"

He left then but I'd not missed the slight smirk. They'd got it together at last.


	63. Chapter 63

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Three

After lunch Toshiko and Ianto introduced Eddy to Myfanwy. They called the pterodactyl down from her nest using the call signal we'd devised and Ianto held little Eddy against the large beak for her to sniff. I hovered in the work area watching, just in case things went wrong, but they managed fine. Little Eddy was a bit overawed by the encounter and was taken down to the playroom – that's what Ianto had named it – to recover. Toshiko and Ianto stayed there with him for nearly an hour. I was in the office, catching up on paperwork and fielding a call from the Prime Minister but as he was only ranting I didn't have to listen too hard and forgot it all when the call ended. Owen stuck his head round the door about two thirty.

"I'm going down with the Weevils."

"Okay. Send the others back up, it's time they got on with some work."

"Will do. I had a thought last night." He had my full attention. Last night was when he and Toshiko had got it together, or so I hoped and believed, and I wanted more details. "It was Tuesday, Suzie's regular night off. Think someone was waiting for her to show up?"

"Probably." I sat back, thinking about this. She had had this regular appointment for years, starting about six months after she'd joined, but she had never said where she went or what she did. "She ever say anything to you about it?"

"Nah, always ignored me whenever I asked. Oh well, suppose they won't have waited long." He turned on his heel and left, heading for the vaults.

I'd not got any more gossip out of him but it had reminded me about Suzie's flat which still needed to be cleared. I called Brendan Griffiths and was lucky enough to get straight through. I explained what I needed and booked him for Monday, arranging to meet him there with the keys. The stuff would go in a lockup storage unit, one of many we had on an industrial estate in Canton under the name Store-It. Getting into the files, I found the empty units and made a note of the number of the next one to be used and its security code; someone would have to be there to let Brendan in to unload his van. The Rift was not particularly active at present and I hoped it would stay that way: I wanted time to get to the flat again, before Monday, and make one final sweep.

At three I had had enough of the office and the Hub so gathered up Toshiko and drove out to Rhiwbina. I was pleased she had wanted to come along although I had asked Ianto first. He had had his head buried in the budget papers and declined but I think he didn't want to leave Eddy who was curled up on the desk being stroked. The little thing was exhausted after his time in the playroom – Eddy not Ianto – although maybe they both were.

The afternoon was pleasantly warm and sunny though there were some clouds gathering to the south which meant rain before evening. The streets were reasonably busy and there were a lot of people making the most of the good weather. I drove north into Rhiwbina. This had been a village when I'd first known it, before it was redeveloped as one of the wave of Garden Villages in the 1910s. There had been an excellent Tea Garden which served fantastic cream teas and had dances on summer evenings. On another street had been one of the first garages in Cardiff where I'd persuaded Emily to buy Torchwood's first motorised vehicle; she had been terrified when I'd driven it around the narrow roads on a test drive. Good times.

"This is it," said Toshiko who had been quiet for most of the ride. "On the left."

I recognised the factory building and carried on past it, turning round at the next junction and coming back to park on the opposite side of the road and a hundred metres down. We had a good view of the place.

"Close enough for scanning?"

"Uh huh." She already had her PDA out, fiddling with the controls. "Only the one car still."

We sat and watched the place while the scanner did its work. People were walking by us, mothers and kids mostly on their way to the shops with a few pensioners walking their dogs. It was a peaceful scene that would have been mirrored on most other residential streets of the city.

"This is what we do it for, so those people can go about their lives without fear." Toshiko sounded thoughtful, wistful even, as she stared out of the windscreen.

"We'll have done our job if they never know about us or what we do."

"Doesn't seem fair. Someone ought to know about the sacrifices that have been made."

"You're right. Maybe they will, one day." I twisted sideways in my seat and looked at her. "If it ever gets too much, Tosh, just say the word."

"What is this?" she replied, smiling at me. "That's the second time you've said that. You trying to get rid of me?"

"Absolutely not." I returned her smile. "Would you rather be out there, with them?"

She thought about this seriously and it was several minutes before she spoke again. "I got to wondering, the other day, what my life would have been like if I'd not gone to Lodmoor. I didn't have to, I had an offer of a fellowship at Yale but wanted to stay in England."

"Tosh the academic," I mused.

"Yeah," she said, the word coming out as sigh. "No Rift and no aliens but I doubt I'd have been any more like them out there. I'm not made for relationships and family life."

"Of course you are! But you won't get either if you work all hours and don't go anywhere to meet people," I protested. "At least you went out last night. How was that?"

She smiled broadly and a faint blush coloured her cheeks. "It was good, really good. Can't think why Owen asked me, he never has before, but … yeah, it was good."

"Where did you end up?" I was dying to know for sure what had happened between them and if I kept it light she might just tell me.

"The Wharf. Had a few drinks and played pool. He's crap at pool." She grinned now. "Had to let him win a couple of games."

"Good call, he's a lousy loser. Go on to a club or anything?"

"No, just sat and talked."

"And? Did he take you home? Come on, Tosh, tell your Uncle Jack!"

With a sudden laugh she clouted me on the leg. "No! That's between me and Owen."

"Ohhh, so something did happen."

"I didn't say that, don't put words into my mouth."

"You're no fun, Toshiko Sato. I tell you about my love life it's only fair you tell me about yours."

"You tell everyone about your love life whether they want to know or not! Though you've been pretty quiet on that front lately. Getting serious with Ianto, is it?" She had neatly turned the tables and I knew I would not get any more out of her.

"Might be, might not. Hold on, what's this?" I had spotted a lorry entering the factory. "Another delivery?"

"That collects the finished coats," she said, referring to the PDA again. "Three times a week, regular as clockwork."

Something seemed wrong about that and I tried to work out why as I watched the lorry manoeuvre into position near the loading bay at the back of the factory. It was out of sight behind the straggly hedge so we couldn't see who was loading it. Then it came to me. "It comes three times a week?"

"Uh huh, Saturday, Wednesday and Friday. Why?"

"Lorry that size could hold more than three hundred coats. Why does it come three times?" I looked at her. "Maybe it's taking away something other than coats."

"The scanner's not showing anything new, just the Antilositic energy. Perhaps the lorry collects from more than one factory."

"Perhaps. Check it out. The name on the side was Parnell & Son."

We sat for fifteen minutes as Toshiko worked the PDA, accessing all the many websites and databases at her disposal to find out more about the haulage company. It appeared to be legitimate, with a fleet of vans and lorries that moved goods across South Wales. A number of textile companies used them but all of them filled a vehicle every time, there were no part loads, and had only one pick up a week unless they were double the size of this setup with a much larger output.

"Let's follow it when it comes out. Tell Ianto what we're doing," I told her, refastening my seatbelt so we could leave when the lorry did.

Five minutes later, the lorry emerged slowly into the flow of traffic. It was headed back towards the city which suited me as that was the way the SUV was pointed. I stayed well back, keeping a car or two between us. Just south of Heath, the lorry headed east through Roath and I thought it was making for Splott but it went past the obvious turning. We were going along Eastern Avenue when the comms crackled into life. Toshiko fielded the call though I could hear both sides of the conversation. There had been a Rift opening at Pengam.

"We're not far away," I told Owen. "We'll go see what it is. You keep tabs on the lorry we're tracking, Tosh'll send you the details."

I got onto Southern Way at the next junction and swung south into Pengam, following Toshiko's directions which Owen had sent her. The opening had occurred on a housing estate backing onto the Rhymney River that wends its way down the east of Cardiff and opens into the Severn. Parking on Rover Way, we took off on foot through the alleys linking the residential streets. This part of Pengam had been built in the 70s and 80s when garages were in blocks and houses were reached by a warren of footpaths. Some criminals used the nooks and crannies created by the geography to do their deals but, for the most part, it's a reasonable place to live.

"Here," said Toshiko, stopping in front of a single block of four houses. "Not sure what -"

The blast sent us tumbling head over heels back the way we had come. Debris rained down around us and I was repeatedly hit by roof tiles, lumps of wood and brick as well as the shower of broken glass. "Tosh! Tosh, where are you?" I yelled, pushing myself up to look around. A small heap of clothes resolved itself into her form and I scrambled over to her side. "Tosh!"

She was lying on her left side and was very still. A large piece of glass was embedded above her right ear and there was blood running down her neck. Tentatively I laid a hand on her neck and found a pulse. She was alive!

"Owen, the place just blew up," I said into the comms. "Tosh is down. Get yourself and Ianto out here. Now!"

"_On our way." _

Gingerly I reached to the piece of glass and tested it. It was not as deeply embedded as I had imagined and, when I wiggled it, it came out with a gush of blood. Head wounds bleed a lot, I told myself repeatedly, as I ripped off coat, shirt and T-shirt to make an absorbent pad out of the latter. Applying pressure to the wound, I turned to look around me. The block of houses had been destroyed, though the external walls were still standing, and was on fire. A handful of people were milling around, mostly from the neighbouring houses, and I assumed one of them or Owen would have called the emergency services. Working one handed I was able to pull the coat over Toshiko and get at my wrist-strap to scan the area. The blast had not been natural - there was a residual signature - but whatever had caused it was gone now.

"Are you all right?" asked a middle-aged woman. "Is she hurt?"

"Help's on its way," I reassured her with a smile. "Was anyone in there?"

"Number five was empty, the Hendersons moved out last month, and both the Jacksons in number six are at work, I saw them leave this morning. I don't know about seven and eight. I think Wyn might have been at home, he often is around now. And Caroline and her baby were probably in."

I could see the woman was going into shock as she realised what might have happened to her neighbours. Giving her something to do might help. "Could I move my friend indoors?" I asked. "She'd be more comfortable than here."

It worked. "Of course, love. I'm at thirty three, just over here."

The fire engine and ambulance arrived as I carefully picked up Toshiko, after checking her over for other injuries, and followed the woman into her home. We laid Toshiko on the sofa with a tea towel under her head to protect the fabric and another wadded up and pressed against the wound, replacing my makeshift arrangement. I stayed with her for the next ten minutes and was pleased to see some colour return to her face although she remained unconscious.

"_Jack, where are you?"_ came in my ear.

"Number thirty three," I told him. "I'm just going to get my friend, Mrs …"

"Traynor, Peggy Traynor."

"Won't be a minute." I smiled at her, pleased the woman had recovered from the initial shock. The front door was barely open an inch before Owen was barrelling through.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"In here." I led the way. "Mrs Traynor, this is Doctor Harper. He's going to look after things."

"Do you need me to get you anything, doctor?" I was amused by the deference in her voice, not the usual tone we use with Owen. I left them to it and, reclaiming my shirt and coat, went outside where Ianto was standing among the debris scanning the area.

"How is she?" he asked as I joined him.

"Head wound, some glass. I don't think it's too serious but she's probably bashed her head too."

"What about you?" He was looking at my blood-smeared chest as I did up the shirt.

"I'm fine. Cuts and bruises, already healed."

As we spoke I was watching the activity all around. Police officers had arrived and were keeping spectators back and checking the houses around, evacuating those in any danger from the fire. The flames were already almost under control as the firefighters poured water onto the blaze which had mostly gone upwards.

"It wasn't natural, sir," said Ianto calmly, his voice low so as not to be overheard. "The signature appears to be Pronskite, some kind of warhead."

"Casualties?"

"They found a man in number seven. Alive. He was blown out of the back door. He's on his way to hospital but it doesn't look too good. That's all so far." Ianto concentrated on the scanner, took a few paces to the right and dug amongst the rubble. "Tosh's PDA," he said when he returned. "What do we do now?"

"I think this'll pass as a gas explosion. Keep an eye on the police and fire reports for the next few days; if they're content, we can leave it at that." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the grit and dust there. "I must look a sight."

"You'll do. Shall we check on Tosh?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

She had come round and was propped up on the sofa when we arrived. She looked pale but was aware of her surroundings and smiled when she saw us. Owen had cleaned and dressed the head wound and that was the worst of the damage, the rest was just scrapes and minor cuts. I thanked Mrs Traynor while the others helped Toshiko into Owen's car before the doctor took off back to the Hub.

"Want to see any more?" asked Ianto as we stood looking at the scene. The fire was now all but out and people were starting to go back to their homes.

"No. The SUV is this way."

Some of the alleyways were blocked off with crime scene tape so we had a trek to get back to Rover Way. It was lucky I had parked there, any closer and I'd have been boxed in by fire engines and other emergency vehicles.

"You drive," I said, tossing Ianto the keys. I may not be physically hurt by explosions but they leave me feeling shaken, like anyone else.

In the car, Ianto turned to me. "Did you die, Jack?"

"No. I told you, just cuts and bruises." He looked like he didn't believe me. "Really, Ianto, I didn't." Bless him, he was concerned about me.

He nodded and turned on the ignition, edging out carefully. He had never driven the SUV before so was particularly cautious – for that read slow! – getting back to the Hub. He wasn't helped by the heavy traffic and the rain which started to lash down in one of the typical heavy showers that plague Cardiff. But we made it back eventually and got into the Hub to find Owen at his desk alone.

"Tosh has gone to have a shower then I'm taking her home." This was a statement not a request or suggestion. More evidence of a budding relationship?

"Fine. Think I'll do the same."


	64. Chapter 64

_I can't believe it, over 600 reviews! That's amazing and I am very, very grateful - Jay_

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Four

After a shower and change of clothes I returned to the work area to find Owen and Toshiko still there. I had expected them to be long gone but she had not been willing to go home without checking with me first despite Owen's medical orders and Ianto's assurances. However, she had agreed not to work and was sitting on the sofa with Eddy in her lap, stroking him to his evident delight.

"Hey, Tosh, how are you feeling?"

"Not too bad."

"Rubbish. She should be at home resting." Owen was standing at the entrance to the medical bay, arms folded across his chest. "Tell her, Jack."

"He's right. It's home time anyway." It was almost seven o'clock. "And don't come in tomorrow if you aren't up to it." I was crouching in front of her, looking up into her face. Her colour was good and she was obviously lucid. None the worse for wear, thank goodness.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Umm, I was lucky. Hey!" Eddy had leapt from her lap onto my chest and I fell backwards, my arse meeting the floor with a thud. He was clinging to me, his little face looking up at me and I swear if he had had a tail it would have been wagging.

"Want a hand?" offered Ianto, grinning down at me.

"No, I'm all right." I stayed on the floor and gently disengaged Eddy, setting him on the floor. He immediately took off.

"What did you do that for!? Now I'll have to catch him again." He was off after the little green fuzzball who had headed into the office with an amazing turn of speed.

"Come on, Tosh, time to go. You got those painkillers?" Owen was holding out Toshiko's jacket and helped her into it.

"In my bag." She went to reach for it but Owen was before her, scooping it off the desk and handing it to her. She coloured prettily as she accepted it. "Thanks."

Sitting on the floor - against the background of thuds, crashes and curses from the office - I watched the pair of them as they got ready to leave. It was so obvious, to me anyway, that she cared for Owen and that he liked her. Now, if only they could translate their mutual friendship into a relationship … God, I'm getting soppy.

"There's nothing predicted tonight but if you need me, call," said Owen, putting mobile and car keys into his jacket pockets. "I tracked that van you were following, emailed you the results. Nothing else going on."

"Okay, thanks."

"Goodnight," smiled Toshiko, looking down on me. "Night, Ianto."

"Take care," said the dishevelled Welshman, emerging from the office with Eddy in a firm grip. Owen and Toshiko left then, he with his hand in the small of her back. Cute. "Are you going to sit there all night?"

"No. I'm waiting for you to help me up." I grinned up at him and reached out a hand.

"Too old to make it on your own?"

He was putting Eddy into the carrying case when I rugby tackled him round the knees. With a cry he fell on top of me – which had been my plan – and Eddy was thrown into the air. I had my hands under Ianto's jacket and was tickling his sides in no time. "Who are you calling old!" I demanded.

"Let me go!" This came out in gasps between fits of giggles.

"Only if you make me coffee and some supper." Eddy joined in the wrestling match at this point. He landed on Ianto's stomach and ran up it, keeping his footing even though the Welshman was squirming to be free.

"Done!"

We lay, Ianto half on top of me and Eddy on top of us both, catching our breath. Lying there I wondered when I'd last had fun with someone as I did with this boy. It hadn't been Lucia, she had been far too serious if also drop-dead gorgeous: Alice was a pale shadow of her mother. Estelle had been fun but it had been wartime and there hadn't been the same opportunities back then. Ianto shifted to one side and sat up, smiling as Eddy clung on, before disentangling him and putting him in his case and firmly shutting the door.

"You stay there, you've had more than enough exercise for today." I was about to reply when I realised he was talking to the Eddykk. "As for you, sir, I'm sure there's some work you can be getting on with."

"I can think of lots of things to be 'getting on with'." I reached for him but he stood up and stepped away before I could get a decent hold.

"I thought you wanted supper? There's not much in, shall I order pizza?" He took off his jacket as he often does at the end of the day and draped it over the back of Owen's chair.

"Fine. But coffee first, please."

He went off to the coffee machine and I finally got up off the floor. Having confirmed there was no Rift activity predicted, I went to the office which and was relieved to see no more papers had been added to the desk in my absence. The emails had accumulated, as always, and I was going through them as fast as I could when Ianto reappeared with a mug of coffee.

"Pizza will be about forty minutes. I'm going to change."

Left to my own devices again, I sipped the fabulous brew and finished off the emails. I'd left the one from Owen to last and opened it up now. The van had continued on from where I'd last seen it through the eastern suburbs of the city and ended up on St Mellons Business Park where Parnell & Son was based. I opened up the attachment and got some CCTV from the area which showed the van arriving and driving straight into a warehouse. Curious. This was a pick up of coats, supposedly, so what were they doing in the haulage firm's warehouse? They should have gone straight to a retailer. We were going to have to get to the bottom of this and soon, before the Antilositic energy increased to dangerous levels. I got out maps and started planning an operation.

The Rift was still quiet so after pizza, Ianto and I went out for a walk around the Bay ending up at Salt on Stuart Street where we had a couple of pints. The place was a bit modern for both of us but I didn't want to be too far away from the Hub and Ianto didn't mind. The place was busy and we were lucky to get a table where we supped our beer like any two blokes out for a drink. We talked about this and that and amiably disagreed about Toshiko and Owen. He was sure they hadn't wound up in bed while I was sure they had. Neither of us convinced the other but he did raise some doubts in my mind. Pity that, I had rather liked the idea.

"I thought I might move some more of my stuff tomorrow," said Ianto. "There's not a lot left at the flat but I ought to start on it."

"Okay, but go in the morning. I want to sort out that factory, hit it around four when the lorry comes for pick up."

"Maybe I should wait," he immediately offered. I don't think he'll ever put his own needs before other people's. "It's not urgent."

"No, do it. Didn't Owen say he wanted to release the Weevils? You could help him with that and then he can drop you off at the flat."

"Okay, as long as it's not too busy." He sipped his beer and I knew I'd have a tussle getting him out of the Hub tomorrow. Yet another example of him not wanting to take personal time.

"As you worked at this factory, I'd like your input on our plan of attack. Make sure we don't overlook the obvious."

"Okay, but it's been a few years."

"Don't forget your session on the firing range," I said innocently. "Still gotta have that sometime."

"Depends what you mean by session." There was teasing smile dancing on his lips and I could see he was remembering the last time we'd been down there together.

I grinned. "Guns. Initially anyway." I took a swig of beer and added, "Even being Hub-based you should be better trained than you are."

"Suppose so." He didn't sound too keen so I decided not to press it. Best to leave him to mull over the idea. I also wanted to get him some basic combat training but this was not the moment to mention that. I'd keep that for some other time.

Back at the Hub, we looked over the blueprints of the factory Toshiko had found and I made notes of the position and types of the machinery; there were more than I had imagined and his inside information was very useful. Later, he went to make a final round of the vaults before turning in, taking the sleeping Eddy with him. Before turning in myself, I double checked the Rift monitor and the police channels. The explosion at Pengram had claimed the life of Wyn Forrester, sixty eight, who had died of his injuries in hospital. Half a dozen others had been treated for shock and minor injuries before being sent home. Preliminary findings were that the explosion had been caused by a gas leak so we could let that stand. I spent fifteen minutes analysing the Rift opening and concluded the Pronskite warhead had fallen through from some other dimension and exploded on impact. It took more fiddling about but I finally located the point of entry and saw the tiny missile fall through the atmosphere. I flagged up my findings so Toshiko would find them easily and left her a note asking her to double check them. Nothing else seemed to be happening which reassured me. I'd like an uninterrupted night.

My eye was caught by the Antilositic energy readings which had risen but were still within safe parameters. The satellite images showed a dark and empty building. I sat at my desk and pondered this. The factory was housing some kind of alien lifeform, or possibly more than one, and these were being used to produce sheepskin coats. And yet there was no overt security on the place. Howell Evans was content to toddle off home in the late afternoon and leave them unguarded until he came back the following morning. Even if the aliens were working willingly, I couldn't understand why Evans trusted them; I know I wouldn't if I'd been in his position. So, what made him so secure? I checked the Parnell & Son warehouse again and got my first clue: there were very faint Antilositic energy readings. Evans had taken hostages, was taking them, I amended, that's what required three trips a week.

My PC beeped with an incoming message. "You still working?" asked Ianto. He had sent me another of his live links and I could see him sitting up in bed, bare chested, and gorgeous. "It's late."

A quick check and I saw it was almost midnight. "Sorry, I'm going to be a bit longer."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to work out what aliens are at the factory." I really wanted to get on with it without interruption. "You go to sleep, I'll join you later."

He didn't look pleased but said, "Okay. Come down soon." The link closed. I didn't like disappointing him but work really did have to come first.

The database came up with a couple of dozen alien species which could operate machinery designed for humans. Some I could dismiss immediately as being too aggressive to submit to blackmail by the removal of mates or young which left me with four species. These I analysed in more detail but could neither confirm nor reject them: it could be any one of them or some new species entirely. We were going to have to go in and see for ourselves. I reconsidered the plans I'd made earlier with what I had learnt since. Perhaps an early morning raid would be more appropriate, when Howell Evans was out of the way. But what about the haulage company warehouse? Ought we to hit that at the same time? Deciding to mull it over for a bit longer, I sent texts to Owen and Toshiko telling them to be in by seven and was pleased to get an acknowledgement from them both which set me wondering what they were doing up so late. Were they together still?

Then I went down to join Ianto. The boy was asleep, snoring lightly when I crept into his bed. I curled around him and let myself drift off, content to have a moment of peace before some action in the morning. I woke around four and lay enjoying the sight, smell and feel of Ianto beside me. There had not been any nightmares so far and I hoped he'd have an uninterrupted night, he deserved it. It was half an hour before I could bear to drag myself away. Ianto had a special something that made me feel better, more at peace, when I was near him. I wanted to keep him safe and by my side but was no nearer resolving how I was going to manage that by the time I'd showered, changed and was sitting in the office once more.

Ianto appeared first, woken by the alarm I'd set for him. He was subdued as he went about his normal duties which included bringing me a much needed mug of coffee.

"Bit of a rethink for today," I told him. "We're going to hit the factory first thing, round eight if we can get organised by then."

"Okay. The others coming in soon?"

"Should be here in the next ten minutes."

"I'll make their coffee." He went off. There was nothing outwardly wrong with him but I watched him nonetheless. Normally he'd say a bit more than that, make an amusing comment maybe. I'd have a proper chat with him later and find out what was wrong.

At five to seven Toshiko and Owen arrived – together. I was convinced that they had spent the night together but when I caught Ianto's eye he shook his head, dismissing the possibility. With the others removing coats and getting coffees, I couldn't pursue the matter – something else to take up with him later.

"Okay, kids, heads up." I was standing outside the office while they were scattered around the work area. "I did more digging into the factory at Rhiwbina and came up with a few worrying conclusions which mean we have to get in there now." I went on to lay out my reasoning which they listened to in silence. One advantage of an early start is that Owen is still half asleep or hungover and disagrees less. "Before I go into the plan, Tosh, are you up to coming out with us?"

"Yes, I'm feeling fine." She smiled at me reassuringly.

I glanced at Owen who shrugged. "She was okay last night."

With another knowing glance at Ianto, who merely raised an eyebrow, I carried on. "That's good. I'm not expecting any rough stuff, a simple in and out."

"Nothing's simple with you, Harkness." I ignored Owen.

"Here's the plan. We get there ASAP and get inside. There are two doors, front and loading bay round the back. Tosh and I'll go in the front, Owen, you take the back. Once inside we locate the aliens. We don't know what they are but if Howell Evans trusts them enough to leave them unguarded all night I'm not expecting them to resist. Once they're secured, we wait for Evans to show up – which is where you come in, Ianto. I need you to watch for when he leaves home and to alert us. We can be waiting for him."

"What about the Parnell warehouse?" asked Toshiko, putting down her empty coffee mug.

"Ianto keeps an eye on that too but there's no reason for them to know anything's wrong if we have Evans. Once we've got the factory sorted, we go to the warehouse. Everyone clear?"

"Sounds like one of your better plans," remarked Owen. "Suppose you had to get a good idea sometime."

"Thanks!"

The next ten minutes were busy as we gathered together all we needed and made sure Ianto was set up to monitor us, the warehouse and Evans. We were in the SUV at seven nineteen and twenty minutes later we rolled up outside the factory. The road was quiet with just a few pedestrians and one or two passing cars. The factory gates were propped open, as always, so I drove in and parked well to the side of the building behind some large rubbish bins so no one passing would see it and it would be hidden from Howell Evans when he arrived.

"I'm getting fourteen heat signatures from inside," said Toshiko from her place in the back. She had been working on the computer all the way from the Hub and refined the sensors. "Antilositic energy at the same levels as before."

"Good. Owen, call when you're in position. We go in together."

"Right." He checked his Glock and exited the vehicle. As he walked away, hugging the walls of the building, he shoved the gun in his belt so it rested in the small of his back. He soon disappeared from view.

"Ianto, we're going in," I said into the comms. We left the SUV and moved quickly across to the front doors where I used the alien lockbreaker.

The locks clicked open as Owen said, "Ready."


	65. Chapter 65

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Five

I eased through the door, Webley held out in front of me, and looked round. We were in a narrow vestibule with a combined reception and office on the left. In front of us were double doors marked 'Private – No Entry'. All was exactly as Ianto had described it. After checking the office, empty, I joined Toshiko at the double doors. They were locked and she was already using the lockbreaker (great little gadget) to open them.

On the other side of the doors was the factory floor, a lofty space which ran the full length of the building lit by windows set high in the back wall and a row of skylights. The machinery was old and I imagined it had been in use for many decades. I didn't recognise any of it except the dozen large benches on which stood industrial sewing machines. Across the room, Owen popped into view having come through the loading bay and what appeared to be a packing area. He halted and looked around, before standing like us and staring at the twelve aliens chained to the benches. Two more were secured to other machinery at the far right of the building. All were sitting on the floor in an attitude of defeat or despair, or maybe both.

"Jack, what are they?" asked Toshiko quietly.

"Don't know." I edged forward to stand by the nearest one who raised its head to stare at me.

He, or maybe she, was a strange parody of a human with purple mottled skin, a head with eyes, nose and mouth and two arms and two legs in the same configuration as humans. But there the similarities ended. Their bodies were impossibly slender and their limbs at least twice as long as humans' and out of proportion to their trunks: I calculated they would be around four metres tall. I crouched down, holstering my Webley, so I was more or less on a level with one. Its eyes were perfectly round and unblinking above tiny slits for nostrils and mouth. I couldn't see any ears.

"Can you understand me?" I asked.

The being put its head to one side and continued to look at me through those large eyes. I felt no animosity from it, just a profound sadness and weariness. I tried a few other languages, picked up during an active life, even some sign languages but nothing sparked a response.

"These chains go through their ankles!" said Toshiko in horror. She had moved to another of the beings, scanning it with her PDA, and had reached out to look at the chain.

"Careful," I warned.

"Christ, this is bloody awful," exclaimed Owen from across the room. "It's slavery. We've got to help them."

"We will, but first we need to know what we're dealing with or we could hurt them or them us." I stood up, looking round. All the aliens were looking at the three of us now, a few further away had stood up and they loomed over us but as they appeared so fragile I was not alarmed. "Ianto, any movement at Evans' house?"

"_Nothing. What have you found?" _

"Fourteen aliens. I'll send you a picture, run it through the database."

"_Okay." _

I took the picture with my mobile and sent it to him. I'd be surprised if he found anything but who knows, the archives are so big even I can't remember all that's in there. I was watching Toshiko who was trying the lockbreaker on the chains when there was a cry from Owen.

"Owen, what is it?"

I was across the room in no time, pushing through the benches and past the aliens, gun back in my hand. I didn't like what I saw. The alien's hand was pressed to the top of Owen's head, the three long digits spread out over the skull. Owen's face was screwed up seemingly in pain. I held the gun to the alien's head and was about to pull the trigger when the hand was removed and Owen gasped.

"It's okay, it's okay," the doctor managed, sinking down to sit on the floor. "Jeez!"

Toshiko had followed me over and was kneeling beside him, her arm on his shoulder as she peered into his face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah." Inconsequentially I noticed the look that passed between them; much more meaningful than anything I'd seen from either before. They had to be sleeping together.

"Owen?" I prompted.

"They're telepathic. Kast just … communicated with me."

"What are they? How did they get here?" I demanded.

"Tell you in a minute. They're thirsty, really thirsty. We've gotta get them some water."

"Tosh can do that," I nodded to her and she went off to find a tap. "Now tell me."

"These are Gethrill. They were passing close by when their ship developed a fault and they had to land. Before they could fix it and move on – they seem to know they shouldn't be here – some hunters caught them." His face took on a disgusted expression. "The Gethrill are peaceful, they don't know what fighting is let alone how to do it!" He swallowed hard, obviously affected by what he had learnt. "They were moved around a bit and then brought here – sold, I expect – and made to work the machines. They've been here a long time by their standards."

"Must have been a couple of months ago when the energy readings started," I mused.

I looked around and wondered at the human capacity to enslave and abuse any species it came across that was different or which might turn a profit. These beings were far in advance of Earth, which had not even explored its own solar system, yet they were brought to this. Toshiko was moving among them with a pail of water doling out cupfuls and the change once the Gethrill had drunk their fill was immediate; their skin turned a solid purple.

"There are more of them, another four, who've been taken away. The Gethrill don't know where, just that it's worse than here. Seems they're rotated, different four every time." Owen had recovered from his shock and was angry, his hands forming fists. "It's gotta be Parnell's warehouse."

"We'll get there, soon," I assured him. "Did you tell them anything about us?"

"Don't know. Not consciously anyway."

I squatted down in front of the alien Owen had called Kast. Reaching out slowly I gently took its hand and placed it on my head; it got the message. Images flooded through my brain which confirmed all that Owen had told me and more, so much more. This was a highly developed species with a rich and varied history who had travelled across vast reaches of space. Using the psychic training from back in my Time Agency days, I managed to block the information Kast was sharing with me and project information about Earth and Torchwood and about the three of us. I was staggered by the flood of relief and gratitude that came back to me; this wasn't just from Kast, it was from all the Gethrill. Assuring them that we would help, I disengaged the telepathic connection.

"You okay, Jack?" asked Owen. He looked concerned.

"Fine. I've told them we'll get them out of here and help them back to their ship. Tosh, any joy with the chains?"

"They're welded!" she replied, anger in her voice and body language. "It's disgusting!"

"Go get the laser saw from the SUV, that'll cut through them." She went off. "Ianto, you still there?"

"_Yes, sir, I've been listening. We have nothing in the database about Gethrill and staff are just starting to arrive at the Parnell warehouse." _

"Any sign of Evans?" I wanted to get my hands on this character, and from the look on Owen's face he did too.

"_Nothing so far. Oh, hang on."_ There was a pause. _"He's just come out of his flat and is walking to his car." _

"Right, this is what we'll do. We wait for Evans and take him into custody. Ianto, I'll need you to bring the van that we used at Caerleon here. Start as soon as you see Evans is definitely on his way. You and Tosh will secure this place and load up the Gethrill. Owen and I'll take Evans and pay a call on Parnell's warehouse to get the other four."

"You'll never get four Gethrill in the SUV," pointed out Owen.

"No. Ianto and Tosh can come and pick them up when we give the word. Okay, everyone?"

They all indicated their agreement and we got to work. It was eight thirty four and we had about quarter of an hour before Howell Evans showed up. Tosh and Owen got cracking with the laser saw, slicing through the chains and doing their best to salve the wounds. I linked with Kast again and explained the plan and got her – I discovered they had two genders - to instruct her colleagues to stay where they were; I wanted the place to be as always when Evans walked in. During this time, Ianto reported that Evans had stopped to buy a coffee and newspaper but was now on his way. As was Ianto. He had set off in the van bringing with him an extra medical kit, containers for water and some blankets at Owen's request.

Howell Evans came into the building, which we had relocked, at eight fifty three, going straight to the office where he dumped his jacket and newspaper before coming onto the factory floor. He sauntered in, cup of coffee in his hand, right into our waiting arms. The coffee went flying as Owen slammed him into the brick wall face first, ramming the man's arm up his back and breaking his nose with the force of the attack. I had no problem with this whatsoever, the man deserved that and more, and even kind-hearted Toshiko stood by impassively as Owen landed a couple of well-aimed blows to Evans' kidneys. The man sagged and was on his knees when I called a halt.

"Owen, that's enough. Cuff him." He did, albeit reluctantly, and thrust Evans none too gently to sit with his back against the wall. Toshiko stood over him as Owen worked, her Glock at the ready; I think she wanted Evans to try something.

"You bastard, you're going to pay for what you did to them!" Owen hissed. I'd not seen him this worked up for a long time.

"Stop that blood," I told him, "don't want stains in the SUV, Ianto would never forgive us. Tosh, make the Gethrill comfortable, they don't have to stay on the floor now."

With her off gently gathering the aliens together in an open area and Owen administering rough – very rough – first aid to Evans, I let myself out of the building and went to stand in the porch. Ianto was due in ten minutes and I needed those few minutes to gather my thoughts. The operation had gone well, with no hitches so far. I didn't know what we'd find at the Parnell & Son warehouse; the Gethrill had been reluctant to share the images with me or Owen and as it caused them pain we had not pressed them. It would be at least as bad as here. We'd quiz Evans on the way so we were properly prepared. The white van drove in through the gates and following my directions Ianto manoeuvred it into position, backed up to the loading bay and well out of sight of the road. I met him as he climbed down and was pleased when he smiled at me.

"Everything's all right at the Hub, sir," he reported. "No Rift openings expected until this afternoon."

"That's good. I want to get the Gethrill back to their ship as soon as possible, providing it's not too far away." I helped him with the blankets and medical kit and we went into the factory.

Ianto was as affected by the Gethrill's plight as the rest of us and immediately helped make them comfortable. I left him and Toshiko to see to the aliens' needs and to get them into the van. It was time to get the other four. Through some group consciousness, Kast had told them who we were, alerted them that we were coming and that we were friends.

Owen manhandled Evans into the back of the SUV and sat next to him while I drove across Cardiff to St Mellons. Between us, and with a little more persuasion from Owen, we got the basics from Evans. The 'mastermind' behind this whole sorry exercise was Sam Parnell who worked for his dad in the haulage business. He, Evans and a couple of other mates had been shooting crows in the hills just south of Caerphilly around the village of Rudry when they'd come across the Gethrill ship in a well-wooded valley. It hadn't taken them long to subdue the peaceful aliens and for Parnell to get a lorry to transport them to the warehouse. After a couple of weeks confinement, when the men had had no idea what to do with the Gethrill, Evans had had the 'brilliant' idea to use them to re-open his family's clothing factory using them for labour with profits split with Parnell. Two weeks ago the aliens had started to peacefully rebel and Sam Parnell decided to hold some of them hostage. Evans went coy on us at this point, refusing to say what Sam had done with them and I got a bad feeling. We did learn that they were kept in a container within the main warehouse which only Sam Parnell could access.

It took twenty five minutes to get to the St Mellons Business Park and I stopped in the road outside with a good view of the warehouse. At nine thirty, the vans were out on the road and only three men remained on site. These were older men who did the paperwork and odd jobs around the place; Sam Parnell did not start work for another couple of hours. With this information and Howell Evans' description of the internal layout of the building we made our plans.

"May as well just hit the place," said Owen, checking his Glock and stuffing it back in his pocket. He was still full of righteous indignation and up for anything. "We can handle 'em."

"Okay, but don't take unnecessary risks. And don't forget the workers in there are innocent." I gave him a hard stare until he nodded agreement.

The warehouse was part garage and part storage and no one queried our approach. I drove up to the main double doors which were stood open and glided through them and into the dim interior. With Evans secured within the SUV, Owen and I made quick exits and rounded up the three men without difficulty, cuffing them round handy pillars out of the way. We found the storage unit and the handy lockbreaker opened it in no time. Inside the four Gethrill were crammed together, chained at wrist and ankle and a very pale purple. They had welts which seeped ichor all over their bodies.

"Christ, look what they've done to them!" exclaimed Owen.

"You look after them," I told him, no less affected by the sight, passing over the laser saw. "I'm going to get friend Parnell to come meet us."

"I want him, Jack. When he gets here, I want him!" The last was said through gritted teeth and did not bode well for young Mr Parnell.

I stepped aside and got out Evans' mobile which we had confiscated earlier and called Sam Parnell. It was picked up after three rings.

"_Yo, Howie."_

"Howie can't get to the phone right now, Sam," I said, "he's a bit tied up. But we need to talk. Now."

"_Who is this?" _He was suspicious but interested.

"My name doesn't matter. I've got a proposition, one that will make you money. Just need the loan of some property of yours, large and purple property."

"_Don't know what you're talking about." _He was blustering. I felt he was eager to do business but trying not to show it; a little man acting big.

"That's a pity because I'll pay more than your friend Howie for a … compliant workforce. Double." There was a long pause.

"_I can't talk on the phone." _

"Right. I'm at your Dad's warehouse. Make it here in thirty minutes and maybe we'll be able to do a deal." I cut the connection and pocketed the mobile; he'd be here. Opening the comms, I called up Toshiko. "How's it going, Tosh?"

"_Good. We've got the Gethrill in the van and the place is locked up. Have you got the others?" _

"Yeah, Owen's with them, they're in a bad way. Get over here soon as you can. Tell Ianto to park on the service road until I tell you to come in, I'm expecting a visitor and I don't want you here until we've dealt with him."

"_Okay."_

We used the thirty minutes to talk to the three workers we'd detained, explaining we only wanted Sam Parnell. Once they understood this – they did not seem bothered about what might happen to him - they were sweetness itself and I let them get comfortable in a locked office. They had no access to phones or computers but there was a coffee machine into which I dropped some Retcon. Leaving Owen with the Gethrill, I stood leaning against the front of the warehouse in the sun waiting for Parnell to show up. I really needed to be smoking a cigarette or maybe a cheroot to look the part but I value my lungs too much.


	66. Chapter 66

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Six

Twenty nine minutes after our phone conversation, Sam Parnell roared up on a motorbike that looked brand new. He parked it by the side of the double doors, which were half closed to obscure the SUV inside, and made a great show of removing his helmet and gauntlets while looking me up and down. I affected not to notice, continuing to stand with my face turned to the sun leaning on the side of the warehouse, but checked him out all the same. He was a shade under six feet tall and broad, running to fat even though he was only in his late twenties. A previously broken nose and old acne scars did not improve his otherwise unimpressive features.

"I'm Sam Parnell," he said, walking to stand a couple of paces in front of me.

"Thought so. You look stupid enough to try and enslave aliens."

"You what!?" He came closer, face contorted and fists bunched. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood. I'm here to shut down your little operation." I pushed myself off the wall and smiled at him, one of my best.

"Like hell you are!"

It wasn't really a fight. He launched himself at me but I sidestepped and he banged into the wall while I landed a punch to his kidneys as he passed me. He was quick and rebounded off to grab me, trying a head butt. I rolled backwards onto the ground before he made contact, taking him with me. While he was off-balance I rolled us over so I was on top, straddling him, and landed a few punches that knocked whatever fight was left out of him. He connected a couple of times but they didn't dislodge me or stop my own assault. It ended when I caught his jaw just right and his head went back, met the ground hard and he was out for the count.

"_Nice right hook." _

The voice was in my ear and I chuckled, recognising Ianto's dry tone. Looking up I saw the van parked on the road outside with a clear view of the recent action. "Learnt from the best. Come on in and we can sort this out." I had Parnell over my shoulder in a fireman's lift and was walking to the SUV when the van backed through the doors and Ianto and Toshiko came in to join me.

"I checked the work schedules, Jack," said Toshiko, all business. "There are two lorries due back here in half an hour."

"I thought we wouldn't have much longer." I poured Parnell into the back of the SUV and secured him next to Evans. "Go and help Owen with the other Gethrill, they're in that container over there. Get them loaded up, fast." She ran off.

"Ianto, grab some stuff and fling it about. Make it look like there's been a fight or a robbery attempt."

"Ah, ok," he said dubiously, looking round. Maybe I shouldn't have asked a neat-freak to make a mess but I didn't have any option, he was the only one available.

He wandered off and I went to the office where the three employees were sprawled in the chairs snoring, dead to the world. One by one, I hauled them out and positioned them around the warehouse as if they'd been felled by assailants. Ianto was making a mess of the place – doing a good job too - as Owen and Toshiko led the four Gethrill, who had to be helped along, to the van. In fifteen minutes, the place looked like it had been turned over, we had the Gethrill in the van as comfortably as possible and were ready to leave.

"Tosh, you're with me. Ianto, you and Owen follow me out of here in the van. We'll find somewhere secluded to regroup."

"What about Parnell's bike?" asked Owen looking at it admiringly.

"It stays. It's got to look like he's been abducted, same as Evans." His sports car was still parked at the Rhiwbina factory.

I led the way out with the other vehicle following, ending up at the nearby lake set in a small park that was unfrequented at this time of the morning. The overflow car park was empty and shielded from prying eyes behind high privet hedges that were in sore need of trimming. Our first priority was the Gethrill and we made sure they had more water while Owen did another quick check of the last four's injuries. They had to stay in the van but with the doors open there was plenty of air and light for them. With them settled, I called the team together a short way away so we could talk privately.

"What you going to do with them?" asked Owen, using bacterial gel on his hands.

"Get them to their ship. Tosh has been working on that." I'd set her the task in the SUV and she was sitting on a bench still working her PDA. "According to Evans it should be in the woods round Rudry. Tosh and I'll take the Gethrill there while you and Ianto take the SUV and these two jokers back to the Hub."

"Hold on, I should go with you. They need medical care."

"I'm sure they can look after themselves once they're on the ship. And," I continued loudly over his protests, "I need Tosh to help get the ship working again. No point taking them there if we can't get the thing off the ground."

"All three of us can go," he persisted.

He was not thinking straight which disappointed me; I'd expected better of him. I took his arm and steered him further away from the others. "We can't leave Ianto to deal with the Rift alone," I pointed out quietly. "It may take hours to sort out the spaceship and I need someone I can trust here in Cardiff."

"Yeah … all right … I see that." He looked annoyed for not having thought of that before. With a wicked smile he added, "Can I have first crack at Evans and Parnell?"

I laughed at that and pitied the two men. "As long as you don't damage them permanently; we may need them." I clapped a hand to his shoulder and we rejoined the others. "Tosh, how's it going?"

"I think I've found it. There's definitely something there." She glanced at the SUV. "Want me to set up a story to explain their disappearance?"

"Not yet. I think a bit of mystery would serve us very well." I'd left Evans' mobile at the warehouse which, if anyone cared to look, would show that Parnell had been called by him. "Everyone know what they're doing?"

There were nods all round. After moving some of the tools and equipment from the SUV to the van, we split up and went our separate ways. Ianto and Owen left first, the two prisoners in the back seat both conscious and frightened yet bolshie; I didn't fancy their chances when Owen got them into the Hub's interrogation room. Following Toshiko's directions, I set off. Driving the van was not as pleasurable as driving the SUV and I went carefully and slowly in consideration of our cargo. Beside me, Toshiko worked at the computer equipment we had installed, along with other modifications; it was so much more than a normal white van.

The journey took just over half an hour and I turned off the narrow B-road into an empty field and drove across it to the side bordering a wood. Leaving Toshiko to monitor the Gethrill, I followed the signals she'd picked up and tramped through the woods for about half a mile until I came to a hollow – valley would be too grand a description – and stood. Almost completely filling the depression was the spaceship, a very impressive one too. It was taller than it was long and burn marks were evidence of its journey through Earth's atmosphere. It didn't appear to have been found by anyone else which puzzled me until, all of sudden, it winked out of sight. Sliding down the bank, I got nearer and was halted by the ship's solid bulk; it was camouflaged. That made more sense. There were many ways of disguising a ship – cloaking technology was not restricted to TV science-fiction – but all of them were notoriously temperamental. This one must have been damaged during entry and was unstable.

I scrabbled back up the bank – easier said than done! - and walked back to the van. "I've found it," I told Toshiko.

"I know," she chuckled, "the Gethrill were getting agitated and linked with me to tell me why. They have some kind of telepathic link to the ship and were anxious when you touched it."

"Interesting. A sentient ship maybe." I was looking forward to getting inside. "Let's go."

We must have been a peculiar sight, fourteen tall Gethrill moving silently through the woods with me leading the way and Toshiko coming up behind. We'd left the van secured but taken all the equipment and tools we could carry; I had no idea what would be needed to get the ship operational again. It was quite a load and I was very glad to reach the spaceship which was still camouflaged. The Gethrill stood along the ridge and both Toshiko and I felt waves of pleasure and relief come from them – their telepathic skills were magnified now they were all together and we were accustomed to it. Perhaps their ship was helping too. One of them turned to me and reached out to take my hand. I wondered if he or she had taken a shine to me, wouldn't be the first (or the last) alien I'd enjoyed, but no such luck. Physical contact was needed to exchange telepathic messages.

"_Thank you, Captain, for bringing us here. I am Kasm, leader." _

"We'll help, Tosh and me, to get your ship operational again," I 'told' him. There was a pause and I heard the buzz of 'conversation' between the Gethrill as they considered this but it went too fast for me to understand.

"_We welcome your help." _

Kasm turned away, dropping my hand, and led the way onto the ship which remained camouflaged. Seeing the first of the Gethrill pass into an invisible ship was eerie to say the least. Toshiko went with Kast, hand in hand and 'talking' about the ship while I hung back a moment and opened the comms.

"Owen, you there?"

"_Yeah. How's it going?" _

"We've found the ship and are going inside to help fix it. Not sure you'll be able to raise us – it's cloaked. I'll come back outside in an hour or so and check back in with you. What's happening your end?"

"_Got Evans and Parnell in the cells. Thought we'd give 'em time to get to know some of the other occupants." _I could hear the amusement in his voice. _"That was Ianto's idea, he's wicked." _

"I know."

"_Rift's quiet. If it's still that way after lunch, we'll maybe take the Weevils out and dump them. Shouldn't take long and I'd like those other jokers to sweat a bit longer." _

That reminded me of Ianto's flat. "If you do, swing by Ianto's flat and help him pick up some of his stuff. He wants to bring it into the Hub."

"_Okay." _

"And, Owen, when you talk to Evans and Parnell, we need the names of all those who've seen the Gethrill."

"_Understood. I'll find out what they did to rough them 'em like that too." _The determination and disgust was clear in his voice.

With matters in Cardiff under control, I hefted the last of the equipment and joined Kasm at the door to the spaceship and went inside. My first impression was of shimmering pinks and purples, great swathes of it from the domed ceiling above me to the floor beneath my feet. The corridor led into a vast open cavern of a control room with various instrument panels set into the walls from about the height of my head to way up near the ceiling. Midway down the right hand side of the room I was amused to see Toshiko balanced on a couple of equipment boxes looking at the bottommost controls on a panel. After shucking off the equipment, I turned slowly and took in the elegant design and functionality of the place; this race were advanced, no doubt about it. Only five of the Gethrill, including Kasm, remained with us, the others had gone to as yet unseen parts of the ship to perform their duties. All the injured aliens had departed and I reached for Kasm's hand to ask if they would be healed.

"_We are repairing them now. Come, Captain, let me show you the fault." _

He led me beyond the control room and down a slope to a lower floor where an Terpelic ion-drive was housed. It was neat and small, belying the power it could generate to propel the ship through the stars. I was so envious. I had only had one ship with this top of the range drive system in all my time wandering the galaxies but I had never forgotten it. It gave a brilliantly smooth ride and was mighty economical.

"Is that the engine?" Toshiko had come to join us and was standing at my elbow, her face alight with anticipation as she contemplated something new. Give her half a chance and she'd have it in bits learning how it works.

"Umm, Terpelic ion-drive. The best."

It took four hours to get the ship back into operation and Toshiko and I enjoyed every minute. Working on something this sophisticated was a delight to me and a revelation to her. She couldn't help herself exclaiming every time she found a new innovation or novel solution and I don't think I've seen her smile so much – ever. The Gethrill were excellent hosts, happy to share details of their technology and background with us as we worked alongside them. Before we left, Kasm presented us with a crystal memory stick with the complete history of their planet, Geth, together with the schematics of the ship. Toshiko's smile just got wider.

"_We thank you,"_ 'said' Kasm when it was time to leave. _"The friendship of all the Gethrill is yours."_

"Pleased to be of assistance. You understand about take off?"

"_Yes. I shall wait thirty of your Earth minutes and follow the flight plan." _

"Good." I had given UNIT the heads up so they wouldn't pursue the ship when it appeared on their tracking radar. Didn't want them buggering up the whole exercise. I'd already had to promise to share our knowledge of the Gethrill with them to get them to stay away from the ship itself. "Safe journey."

Toshiko and I said our goodbyes and joined our equipment on the ridge. The ship was visible and Kast and Kasm waved from the door as we loaded up and started the walk back to the van.

"Oh, Jack, that was wonderful." She was still smiling.

"There are good species out there. It's not all crap."

"I just wish Cardiff got more of the good stuff. But maybe we don't deserve it." She sighed and the smile faltered.

"Not everyone's like Evans and Parnell." I was pleased to see the smile return.

We trudged on, the equipment boxes getting heavier and heavier, until we arrived at the van and loaded up. With the boxes secured in webbing to hold them in place, we got into the van and drove off. I turned up a track heading up the side of the hill and found a level patch near the summit.

"This should be far enough," I told Toshiko, getting out of the van.

"Any time now." She joined me, a pair of binoculars in her hands.

"There!"

A flash of yellow down the hill was clear to be seen with the naked eye and it was followed by the ship rising slowly from the trees. It was even more impressive in flight and we watched it seemingly hover before shooting off with a sudden spurt of speed along the agreed flight path. There was a downdraught of air that would have knocked us off our feet if we'd not been leaning against the van and then the ship was gone. Even though there was nothing to see, we stayed watching the empty sky for several minutes.

"We'd better get back. Don't know about you but I'm hungry." It was almost three in the afternoon and neither of us had had lunch. Thinking about it, I hadn't had breakfast either and I was dying for a mug of Ianto's coffee.

Toshiko laughed, a merry tinkle that gladdened my heart. "I hadn't noticed until now but I could eat a horse."

"Don't think Ianto'll let us have that." I opened the comms to check on the others. Last time I'd spoken to them they'd eaten their lunch and been in the SUV taking the two Weevils to Penarth to dump them down the sewer near the nest we'd located. "Owen, the Gethrill have gone and we're about to start back."

"_Right. We'll be back in an hour or so." _

"Any lunch at the Hub? We're starving."

"_No, sir, sorry." _This was Ianto. _"Would you like me to order something?"_

"Nah, it's okay. We'll stop on the way. Tosh fancies horse, know anywhere that does that?"

"_Horse?"_

"He's joking, Ianto," put in Toshiko, hitting me on the arm. "See you later." She broke the connection. "Don't wind him up like that."

"But it's fun," I complained with a laugh.


	67. Chapter 67

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Seven

We passed a KFC outlet on the way back into Cardiff and decided on a bucket of chicken and fries for our lunch. The van wouldn't fit by the drive-in window so Toshiko nipped out and bought the food which we ate in the cab, washing it down with large fizzy drinks. It was fantastic. Nothing like a greasy meal to set you up after a few hours without food, the smell alone was delicious.

"Oh sorry," laughed Toshiko as she burped. "Drank that too fast."

"No problem. It's like having Owen here."

"He's a messy eater! Got pasta sauce all over my table last night." She nibbled on another piece of chicken.

I was all ears; they had eaten together. "Sooo he's getting his feet under the table, is he?" I eyed her speculatively and saw her blush.

"Stop it, Jack."

"Oh come on, Tosh! Are you sleeping with him or not?" I kept my eye on her but she refused to meet my gaze.

"That is none of your business." Her fries seemed to be very interesting all of a sudden, that and the cars entering the car park.

I let it lie for a moment, picking my words with care, then said, "I'm not being nosy, Tosh. Well, maybe just a bit. I can see how much you care for him and I'd like you to be happy."

"It's not just about what I want."

"Owen cares too, just doesn't know it yet. You have to make him see sense." I munched a handful of fries, thinking that maybe Ianto had been right and they hadn't 'done the deed' yet. But I was convinced that it only needed another little nudge and they'd be there.

"I don't want him to feel I trapped him. And now," she said decisively, "can we talk about something else please?"

"All right. But remember, anything I can do to help, just let me know."

We continued to eat our meal and talked of other things until we were stuffed and only a couple of chicken pieces remained. I got the van moving and we headed for the Bay. The day was overcast but dry which is minor miracle in this wet city. There were the usual vehicles on the roads including the buses that clogged up the lanes and irritated me. Unfortunately, in the van I couldn't power past them as I could with the SUV so I had to sit – impatiently! – and wait as they crawled along.

"Seeing the Gethrill flying off like that," Toshiko said suddenly into the silence, "made me think about the Tenquoo. I wonder if they made it."

"We'll never know, unfortunately. They had a better than even chance. Aha!" I eased past the bus that had been holding me up. "At last."

We made it to Mermaid Quay eventually and I parked the van in its usual spot. The SUV wasn't there so we assumed, correctly, that the others were still out. Toshiko went in with some of the equipment boxes and the remains of lunch while I sorted the boxes to be returned to the SUV. I was about to leave them in a pile when the familiar roar of the SUV's engine echoed round the underground space and it came round the corner. Owen parked with a flourish and jumped out almost immediately.

"You're back then," he said, as I walked over to join him and Ianto who was exiting the vehicle with more decorum.

"Uh huh. Let the Weevils go all right?"

"Yeah, but not before parading them in front of Evans and Parnell. They were so frightened they wet their pants!" His glee was evident.

"There was no need to open the cell doors," put in Ianto. He was at the back of the SUV, unloading bags and boxes.

"Want a hand with that?" I asked. The stuff looked interesting, lots of odd shapes, and I was curious about what he'd brought from the flat. One item in particular caught my attention. "Ah, you brought it!" I grabbed the hockey stick and brandished it.

"It's not a baseball bat. You hold it to the ground." He rolled his eyes and went back to the boxes.

"You do what you want with it and I'll do what I want." I'd sidled closer at this point, near enough to touch. "And I have lots of things to try."

"Christ, two minutes and you're at it! I'm going in." Owen stalked off, not even taking a small bag with him.

"I can manage if you need to get on, sir," said Ianto, keeping his face averted as if concentrating on unloading the car. There was something wrong, I knew it, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't think what I'd done.

"No." I held his arm and pulled him away from the SUV, placing my hands on his upper arms. "What's the matter, Ianto? Have I upset you? Has Owen?"

"It's nothing." He kept his head down, looking at his shiny shoes.

"Come on, think I'm going to believe that? Talk to me."

"It's just, well, I realised … last night. Work always comes first with you, doesn't it?" He was looking at me now.

"Yeah, I suppose. Haven't got much else."

"No, that's what I was thought." He pulled away and I let him go, watching as he went back to the unloading.

"This is because I was working last night? That it? Ianto, we ate together, went out for a drink together. I slept with you, what more -"

"No you didn't! You stayed in the office, you didn't come to bed with me!" He was facing me, accusing me. "If you've lost interest, moved on, just tell me."

"You were asleep when I went to bed and still asleep when I got up. If you don't believe me, check the CCTV!" I was angry at the accusation, especially as I'd been faithful to him, a minor miracle. "I could have woken you and had a shag but, you know what, I actually thought it would be better if you got a decent night's sleep. Forgive me for putting your needs over mine!"

I slammed the hockey stick back in the SUV and took off. I was still angry when I walked through the work area and hung up my coat and put the Webley in the drawer. Who the hell did he think he was!? Acting like some love-sick teenager who had to be told he was special twenty four hours a day, I thought he was more grown up than that! Ignoring the messages on my desk, I turned back to the work area and caught Toshiko and Owen regarding me curiously before immediately pretending to be busy.

"I'm getting Evans up. Owen, meet me in the Interrogation Room. Tosh, record it." I stormed off before they could respond.

It had not been a good idea to start the interrogation in that mood but it paid dividends. Evans spilled his guts as soon as I started hammering out the questions. He gave us the names of all the people he knew who'd been around the Gethrill, young men like him and Parnell who thought they were something special for abusing helpless aliens. He also provided a detailed account of how the aliens had been treated, both at the factory and the warehouse. In both places they had been kept dehydrated but at least in the factory they had been worth something and treated reasonably well. Parnell had taken the four hostage Gethrill and forced them to fight one another. As this was an unknown concept to them, the results had disappointed and he had set about them himself with any weapon he could find. When he found they healed relatively quickly, his attacks and those of his friends had been unrestrained and they'd resorted to what could only be called torture for the 'pleasure' of seeing the aliens suffer.

Owen had to drag me off Evans at that point. His torture of the Gethrill was too similar to the treatment I'd received over the years and I was in no mood to let it pass. It was a good job I didn't have my Webley or I'd have shot him without a second thought.

"Go and cool off, Jack," ordered Owen, pushing me towards the stairs. "Go on!"

I went.

I went deep down into the bowels of the Hub, to levels I'd not visited for months if not years. When I got as far down as I could go I stopped, sat on a crate and forced myself to calm down. It was stupid to lose my temper like that especially as it didn't make me feel any better. I prided myself on keeping cool in any situation, on being the one in control and I had lost it big time. Why? Because Ianto had accused me of something I hadn't done. Why was I letting the boy get to me? What was so special about him? I sat there for an hour and thought about it until I had the answer. One I didn't much like.

Calm and in control once more, I returned to the upper levels. It was five thirty and I'd been out of the Hub all day: there was work I had to get on with. Work was something I understood and could cope with. The rest? That was something else. Only Toshiko was in the work area. She was at her desk and looked up but I ignored her and continued on to the office, going in the back way, head down. I must have been at the desk for quarter of an hour, going though messages and emails, when a tentative tap came at the door.

"Jack? Sorry to bother you." It was Toshiko. "Is it okay if I get off now? The Rift's quiet and we've got an early start in the morning."

"Morning?"

"Ianto and me, we're off to Lampeter. If you still want us to go?"

I remembered then. The pair of them were going to look over Parker's woodwork outlet and see if there were traces of the Cyberman. "Sure. Yeah, you should go." I smiled at her in apology for forgetting. "And it's fine if you want to get home. Where are the others?"

"Downstairs. They're checking something, I think." She paused, looked like she was going to say something and didn't.

"What is it, Tosh?"

"Would you look after Eddy? I don't like to leave him in his carry case; he's been on his own all day."

"Bring him in."

It was a happier Toshiko who reappeared a minute or two later with the Eddykk and handed him over before packing up and leaving. I held Eddy who seemed content to be stroked and petted. He liked the attention, liked it a lot. I liked it myself. Holding him calmed me even more and I was smiling when I finally placed him on the desk where he curled up in a ball and watched me as I read papers and made phone calls. Stroking him kept me relaxed even when talking to Hari Patel, the UNIT commander, who wanted to know more about the Gethrill. It must have been half an hour later when Owen and Ianto appeared at the door.

"Jack, got time for a chat?" asked Owen, stepping forward. Ianto hovered by the door, barely in the room, and refused to look in my direction.

"Sure." I picked up Eddy and held him. I had no idea what this was about and dreaded the thought that Ianto could have gone to Owen to talk about our relationship. Surely such a private person as Ianto would have kept that to himself.

"There's some Retcon missing."

This was so far from what I had been expecting I just stared at him. "What?" I managed eventually.

"Ianto mentioned it to me this afternoon, wanted to know if I could help him reconcile the records. Seems he -," Owen broke off here and looked over at Ianto. "Why don't you tell him?"

Ianto straightened up a little, glanced at me then looked down at some papers. The papers were trembling, I noticed, like his hands. "I've been working on the budget, sir, and found a discrepancy between the amount of Retcon made, the amount recorded as being used and what we have in stock. I thought I might be missing something obvious so went to Owen."

"How much are we talking about?" I asked.

"About three hundred doses." Owen's tone was non-committal but I could sense his unease. "Level three."

"Damn." My mind was going over the possibilities but coming up empty. "How could this happen? Are we sure it has disappeared?" I looked from one to the other for answers; it was Ianto who spoke first.

"The records show that an average of thirty eight doses have been made each month for the past five years, a total of 2,280. The drug usage record shows that we've used only 1,961 leaving three hundred and nineteen unaccounted for."

"I checked the figures, Jack, they're accurate," added Owen. "And I know I'm slipshod about some things but I always," he stressed the word, "keep an accurate drugs book. Especially with Retcon, still don't know what the long-term effects might be with that stuff."

"It's not always you that administers it," I pointed out.

"True. But you always tell me when you dish it out and Tosh hardly ever does." I noted the one person he had not named. "I'm not saying this because she's not here to defend herself, but that only leaves Suzie. I don't want to blame her but how come this wasn't picked up before?"

He had a point. If Ianto could spot the discrepancy almost immediately, Suzie should have been well aware of it. I knew the procedure, had set it up. She kept track of the stocks and got Owen to make a new batch when needed. The pills were kept in the drugs cabinet – open to anyone - and the names of all recipients and other details entered in the usage book. If they weren't there, and Owen was meticulous in keeping it up to date, then we had a problem.

"Could they have been used and not entered? I'm not accusing you, Owen, I know you're on top of this usually. I'm just exploring options. Have we given out a lot and it's just been overlooked?"

"One or two maybe, three hundred? No, Jack, that's not what's happened." He was adamant and I agreed with him. "And they've not been stored away somewhere either. We've been checking all the places we can think of."

"Any clue what's happened to it?"

"Nah. Ianto?"

The boy shook his head. "No. I can check some more, sir, go through the budget papers and the store cupboards, but I can't think of anything else to try."

"Thanks for letting me know, both of you," I said after a short pause. "Seems there's nothing more we can do about it right now. Owen, inventory all the drugs we've got in stock; I want to make sure nothing else is missing. And send an email round reminding everyone to record what we use." It smacked of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted but better that than seeing it happen again. "And maybe we should lock the drugs cabinet from now on."

"Okay if I do that tomorrow? I'd like to get off soon."

"All right. Make sure your mobile's on in case I need to call you in." They left and I watched Owen pack up. He headed for the door, changed his mind and returned to the office shutting the door behind him.

"I don't know what happened today, Jack, but I've never seen you so out of control. You'd have bloody killed Evans if I hadn't stopped you. This place, us, we rely on you. Get yourself sorted, whatever it is, because without you … well, we need you." He turned and went out again without waiting for a reply, leaving by the garage door.

I had barely recovered from this when Ianto tapped on the door and entered with a mug of coffee. He would have put it on the desk and departed but, putting Eddy down, I went round the desk and faced him.

"Ianto," I began, holding his arm to stop him leaving, "are we okay?"

He stared at me and I saw confusion in his expression before he said, "I want us to be. I'm sorry, Jack. I was stupid, misread all the - "

I stopped him there and pulled him close, placing a kiss on his willing lips. "That's all I want to know." I held him close, nuzzling an ear and relaxed once more. I hadn't lost him.

"I want to explain, Jack, please let me." He had not moved and his voice was barely a whisper in my ear.

"Go on then."

"When you stayed up here last night, it felt like you didn't want me any more. That I'd lost whatever attraction I had for you. That's what happened before. With Tom." He paused and I rubbed his back, waiting for him to continue. "It wasn't quite like I told you. One day he just blanked me out, went off with another boy and left me high and dry. He never told me why, never even wished me well. He dumped me and I … I thought you were doing the same."

"Ianto, if I ever decide to dump you I promise I'll tell you." I kissed his ear. "But that's not going to happen anytime soon." _Because I love you_, I thought but did not say.

* * *

_Ah, Jack's admitted it to himself at last! - Jay_


	68. Chapter 68

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Eight

Ianto and I both wanted to spend some time together and for once the Rift obliged and stayed quiet and there were no other incidents to take me out, even the Weevils stayed safely in their nests and sewers.

We started out slow, becoming easy in one another's company once more. I helped take down the last of the boxes and bags to Ianto's room and sat on the bed as he moved around, unpacking and putting the items away. There were more clothes and lots of books and DVDs as well as a photograph album he thought I hadn't seen; I'd sneak a look at that later. He began changing into jeans and a polo top and the sight of so much bare flesh was too much for me. I couldn't resist touching, and touching led to a quick shag, fast and furious, on the bed. It was good, sex with this boy always is, but not as satisfying as a long, slow session; I was planning one of those for later. When we'd cleaned ourselves up and he was dressed again, we went back to the work area and at his request I went to my quarters and changed into jeans. The clean T-shirt I found was a bit small but it showed my pecs and six-pack off to advantage so I was happy. Ianto was too.

"Come here." He grabbed me and started licking and kissing my face and neck as his hands slid under the T-shirt and explored. "God, you taste as good as you smell," he murmured.

"You're not so bad yourself." We spent a few minutes in this pleasurable activity until I drew back. "Good as this is, I really fancy a beer."

He chuckled. "I'll get them. Want anything to eat?"

"Sandwich would go down well."

"I'll see what we've got. Could you get Eddy out? It's time he was fed too."

Ianto went off to the kitchen, his shirt hitched up at the back and showing a flash of bare skin as he walked. He was so sexy, no wonder I … No, I told myself, don't go there. I may have admitted to myself that I loved the boy but that didn't mean we were going to ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. There was so much I was never going to be able to share with him about my life thus far and that would always be a barrier between us. How could I introduce him to Alice? Both of them would be freaked out. That part of my life had to stay a secret, along with a lot of other things. And I didn't want to get in too deep because, unless The Doctor came up trumps and cured me, Ianto was going to leave me, one way or the other. No, better to say nothing and enjoy having him around for as long as possible.

When Ianto came back I had Eddy beside me on the sofa running after a ping-pong ball I'd found on Owen's desk. The little creature was making chirruping sounds, like a bird, enjoying himself.

"You'll wear him out." He put a tray down on the coffee table and I reached for a beer and ham salad sandwich. Ianto knelt by the side of the sofa. "And for you, Eddy, I have tuna and sweetcorn. Let's see if you like this as much as the salmon." He opened a large, shallow Tupperware container and put it on the sofa. "Come on, Eddy, time for dinner."

The Eddykk abandoned the ball and sashayed up to the box. He balanced his front two 'feet' on the lip and delicately nibbled at the food. It obviously suited him as he carried on eating and a few minutes later his head was almost buried in it.

"I think he likes it," I remarked, sitting back sipping the beer with one hand resting in Ianto's hair. The boy was sitting on the floor leaning against my legs, eating his own food and watching Eddy.

"Yeah." Ianto munched a sandwich and drank his beer, contentedly. "I'm sorry about earlier, Jack." He twisted to peer up at me.

Leaning forward, I kissed the top of his head. "Forget about it, I have."

"How do you do that? You've forgiven me so much, so often."

"I'd say life's too short but doesn't sound right coming from me." I shrugged and smiled at him. "Pass me another sandwich."

"I still find it hard to believe, that you've lived so long. You must have seen some wonderful things, Jack." He held out the plate and I took a cheese and pickle sandwich this time.

"And some awful ones. Two world wars, don't forget." I bit into the sandwich and chewed. "And Torchwood back in the early days wasn't a bed of roses."

"Tell me about it."

I took another bite of the sandwich, stalling for time. Those early days with Emily Holroyd and Alice Guppy had been … unpleasant. Those two harridans had terrorised any alien who had been unlucky enough to arrive in Cardiff, killed most of them too, and had certainly not trusted me. Alice in particular had jumped at any excuse to torment me. Their shenanigans made Evans and Parnell look angelic.

"Jack?" prompted Ianto. He was nibbling at another sandwich.

"It wasn't a particularly pleasant time for me. Mind if we don't?" I met his eyes and saw the sudden concern there.

"Of course. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He placed a hand on my knee and squeezed.

"That's okay. I understand why you're interested." I smiled, "You wouldn't have recognised Cardiff." I launched into a description of the grimy, industrial town I had known at the beginning of the twentieth century and the strained moment passed. By the time I'd finished we were laughing and had finished the sandwiches.

He sighed and his grin faded. "What are you going to do with Howell Evans?"

"Why?" I wasn't sure what had brought him back to mind.

"Aled and Dilys are good people and they love him. I don't want them to suffer." I'd forgotten Ianto had worked for Evans' parents and so had a personal interest.

"I planned to make it look like he and Parnell were abducted when a deal went wrong. Tosh has been working up some ideas showing they were fencing stolen goods. They can either disappear for good or turn up with their memories wiped."

"You'd kill them?" He looked only mildly shocked, obviously believing I was capable of it. Perhaps he'd been watching me in the interrogation room.

"No. But UNIT have detention centres." An image of Toshiko in a small cell came to mind. "What do you want to happen to them?" I hadn't planned it but in a way this was a test to see if he was toughening up. He had to detach himself from personal concerns and think of the best outcome for Torchwood and the people of Cardiff.

He chewed his lip for a bit, looking at Eddy who was now standing in the container licking up the last scraps of food. "If the police have enough evidence they'll charge them, won't they? Even if Howell and Parnell can't remember anything?"

"Probably. Tosh can make the evidence watertight."

"Then Retcon them and let them loose. That way they'd be off the streets but Aled and Dilys will know what happened to him. Be able to see him if they want. I'd not want them left in limbo."

"Sounds workable. We've still got to talk to Parnell but after that we can let them go."

"Thank you. Don't wait too long." He knelt up and kissed me on the lips, a searching kiss that might have developed into something more if Eddy had not chosen that moment to climb out of the Tupperware container and walk over Ianto's hand.

"Aargh!" Ianto jerked backwards and looked down at Eddy. "Oh no!" He grabbed the Eddykk in both hands. "Just look at him, he's filthy!" Stray particles of tuna were sticking to his fur which was also liberally coated in juices. A lot of this had fallen onto the sofa and Ianto. "Why doesn't he groom himself?"

"May look like a kitten but he isn't. What he needs is a bath." I took a last swig from the beer bottle and put it down. "Shall we?" On the way to the showers I had another idea and headed to the pool at the base of the water tower.

"You can't use that!" protested Ianto. "It's as filthy as he is."

"You're going to love this." I plopped Eddy in the pool and he immediately started swimming, first in circles and then up towards the far end where the water was deeper. Ianto and I stood and watched Eddy having fun. "Eddykk's love water," I explained with a grin. "Let's time him. Got that stopwatch?"

"Always." Ianto pulled it from a jeans pocket. Not sure how I'd missed it before - the watch was large and the jeans tight!

I picked Eddy out of the water and walked to the further end. "You stand the other end and encourage him. Ready?" Kneeling, I placed Eddy in the water and when Ianto nodded I let the little creature go.

Eddy used his body to swim along, waving his back end to get propulsion. His speed increased as he spotted Ianto waiting for him and he ploughed his way through the water, throwing up tiny ripples. He was slowing by the time he reached the shallower end and puffing when he finally reached the edge and I picked him out.

Ianto depressed the knob on the stopwatch. "Three minutes, twenty eight seconds."

"We'll try him again, another day, and see if can do it any faster." I held Eddy away from me to avoid the dirty water dripping from him. He still had traces of food on his face too. "Like the way you use a stopwatch, by the way."

"Must be the way I handle a knob." Ianto's expression was innocence itself except for the wicked glint in his eye.

"You can handle mine any day." We were laughing as we continued on to the showers.

It's amazing how a little bundle of fur can make such a mess. We used one of the hand basins and some liquid soap to wash Eddy and he liked it so much there was water all over the shop by the time we'd finished. I'd been splashed all up my T-shirt which was clinging to me even more and there was enough water on Ianto's polo shirt to highlight his muscle definition too. After drying Eddy and putting him in his carry case, I turned my attention to Ianto and dried him off. We left our clothes – and a sleeping Eddy – in the shower room and ran through the Hub in our birthday suits, me chasing him up and down the steps and along the gantries, until he let himself be caught and I carried him over my shoulder to his room.

With Ianto lying on the bed, giggling and recovering his breath, I reached for the hockey stick. "Time to bully-off."

"What!? What are you planning on doing with that?" he asked, eyes travelling from my face to the stick and back again.

"Nothing. You're the one going to be using it." I flung myself down beside him. "First you have to tie me up."

I have to say the boy caught on fast. Following my directions but adding some variations of his own, he brought me to the brink a couple of times before letting me climax. When he'd finished with the stick, I turned my attention to him and had him groaning and moaning and yelling like a thing possessed until I finally gave him release. A final shag, slower and mutually satisfying, finished the session and he fell into an exhausted sleep. I held him and dozed off myself for an hour or two before waking.

After a trip to the bathroom, when I recovered our clothes and Eddy and brought them back to the room, I checked my wrist strap and was relieved that all was still quiet. There was plenty of paperwork waiting for me, and other things I could have done, but I didn't do any of them. I climbed back into the bed and lay looking at Ianto as he slept. He looked gorgeous, hair standing up on end, and smelt of sex. I feasted my eyes on him, storing up memories. It was a while later, about three in the morning, when he twitched and mumbled in his sleep. I pulled him towards me and murmured some soothing words but it didn't quiet him and he started to sweat and cry out. He couldn't hit out as I had him in a firm grip by now but he was shaking. This went on for five minutes or so and then stopped. His eyes opened and he gasped, clinging onto me.

"It's not real, Ianto. You're in the Hub with me." I was rubbing a hand up and down his bare back. "You're safe."

"Thanks." We stayed close for a bit longer then he drew back, lying on his back looking up at the ceiling. "Did I wake you?"

"No."

His head turned on the pillow and he glanced at me, a smile playing about his lips. "Were you looking at me sleeping again?"

"Uh huh." I grinned back at him. "Do you mind?"

"It's creepy. But … I suppose it's okay." He studied the ceiling again, his breathing returning to normal. "Do you ever sleep?"

"I don't really need it. An hour or two, now and again, that's all." I snuggled closer, resting my head on his chest.

"Is it … part of … not dying?" He was tentative, his hand stroking my shoulder in reassurance.

"Yeah." Twisting to look up at him, I smiled. "Gives me more time to look at you."

He returned the smile but looked sad. "They really did a number on you, whoever changed you." There was no answer to that as I still didn't know what had happened let alone who or how. "Is it what makes you so sexy too?"

"Nope, I was born sexy!" He grinned and we kissed which developed into yet another shag.

I rose at four thirty unable to stay in bed, even one occupied by Ianto, any longer. Eddy was sleeping so I left him where he was and padded off to the shower room where I stood under the hot water for a long time before shaving and going to my quarters to dress. In the office, I brought up the CCTV and checked the Hub's entrances and the vaults, pleased to see everything as it should be. The police channels had the usual mix of incidents, mostly drunkenness and fights outside the clubs and pubs. Used to be this only happened on Friday and Saturday nights – now it was all days of the week including Sunday. Some cars had been stolen in the suburbs and there was a break-in at the University. All of it was petty stuff and nothing to bother me.

I was bothered by the missing Retcon. Leaning back in the chair with my feet on the desk, I pondered what could have happened to it. There were no jollies to be derived from the drug - anyone taking it would fall asleep and forget – so I couldn't see the usual substance abusers wanting it. Criminals might find a use for it, I suppose, to ensure there were no witness to their crimes. But most of Cardiff's underworld weren't that clever and preferred a blunt object to the back of the head or intimidation. If, as seemed likely, it had been taken by Suzie she must have had a specific purpose in mind but for the life of me I couldn't think what it was. And the Retcon had been going missing over a long time, years from what Ianto and Owen had said, so couldn't be the result of her using the Glove.

Suzie. I really hadn't known her at all. If my vortex manipulator still worked as a teleport I'd go back in time and try and find out more about her; her background, her friends and family and what made her tick. Had she lied to me about everything? Was I really that gullible? Movement outside in the work area snapped me from my depressing thoughts. Ianto was moving around, putting Eddy's carry case on the sofa and tidying up after last night. It was six twenty and the start of another day. Time to stop berating myself for something I could do nothing about. Suzie was in the past. Whatever had gone wrong with her couldn't be put right, I had to look to the remaining team members; doubting myself wouldn't help them or me.

Swinging my legs off the desk, I grabbed my greatcoat and put it on as I walked out to join Ianto. "I'm going for bagels."

"Cream cheese, please." He smiled happily. "Get enough for the others too."

I went to Herb and Ellie's where the smells of baking were mouth-watering. My rumbling stomach convinced me to buy a couple of bacon sarnies as well as the bagels. Ianto and I ate the sarnies with some coffee before Toshiko came in when we started on the bagels. And I needed the sustenance. Both of them badgered me about what I had to do in their absence; Ianto gave me a three page list! All this and they were only going to be out for the morning. I was glad to see the back of them when they left at just gone eight.


	69. Chapter 69

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Sixty Nine

The Gethrill crystal memory stick fitted into a reader that had fallen through the Rift years ago and I was reading all about the settlement of Geth and the history of its inhabitants when Owen came in at nine fifteen. He was moving slowly and carefully and disappeared to the kitchen for a coffee – Ianto had left a couple of thermoses – and used this to wash down some painkillers. I'd learnt it was better to let Owen recover in his own time so went back to the information on the Gethrill. When I'd read it all through, I copied it over to our database and sent an email to Toshiko asking her to prepare a summary for UNIT. By the time this was done, Owen had disappeared into the medical bay.

"Owen, you okay?" I asked, leaning on the railing and looking down at him where he stood at the drugs cabinet.

He looked like death warmed up so he'd obviously been out on the town. When he'd first joined the team, he'd been the cause of many reports of drunkenness and affray in the clubs around the city and I'd be called on to bail him out on a regular basis. As he'd started to recover from losing his fiancée, Katie, he'd controlled himself better but there were still plenty of nights when he overindulged. He needed some stability in his private life, another reason why I wanted him and Toshiko to get together.

"Yeah," he groaned. "Hard night."

"You surprise me! I want to talk to Parnell, you up to it?"

He looked round him as if checking what needed to be done. "Can it wait half an hour? I've almost finished this. Nothing else missing yet."

"All right. I'll do the alerts." I went to leave then turned back. "Owen, about yesterday –"

"I know, I was out of line," he said immediately.

"No, I was. I lost it, I know. Thanks for stopping me." He met my gaze and nodded awkwardly, unused to being thanked.

Back at my desk looking through the alerts, I decided that Owen should be made my second in command. He had his faults, of course he did, but he always stood up for what was right and was not afraid to challenge me or anyone else. His style was different from Suzie's but maybe, given what we had learnt about her this past week, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. It made the search for a new team member more urgent and I resolved to get onto that as soon as I could. I'd hold back on a formal announcement until then.

Among the alerts were reports of a 'break-in' at the Parnell & Son warehouse and the disappearance of Sam Parnell. The three employees I'd retconned could remember nothing, of course, but the mess we'd made and his abandoned motorbike told their own story just as I'd intended. Police were making enquiries but didn't appear to be overly concerned as yet. No one had picked up on Howell Evans' disappearance; he lived alone and no one had missed him. I debated phoning in an anonymous tip but decided against it, it could wait. I sent the details to Toshiko who would be doing more on the cover up when she got back and was drafting the report. One or two other alerts were interesting and I flagged them for Ianto to follow up later, he was proving to be a good investigator as well as archivist.

At ten Ianto called to say they had arrived. _"Place looks pretty ordinary, nothing strange so far." _

"That's good. Keep your eyes open and don't take any chances, either of you."

"_We won't. I'll call you when we're done." _

I hoped they would be careful. This pair could be reckless, especially when they were working together, and get carried away not seeing the dangers until it was too late. I was about to call him back and repeat the warning when the Rift monitor went off. I just beat Owen to Toshiko's desk to check it out. "An opening at Pentwyn," I told him.

"Big one?"

"Looks normal but that doesn't tell us anything." I pulled up the CCTV for the area but the energy accompanying the opening had fried the only camera's circuits. "We're going to have take a look see."

He was at his desk by this time, checking something on his PC. "There's been a 999 call from Pentwyn Drive. Intruder in a garden."

"Grab some of the powerful sedatives and Retcon." I was on my way to the office, the co-ordinates of the opening already transferred to my wrist-strap. With my Webley in its holster and greatcoat on, I picked up an equipment box and followed Owen out of the door.

At the SUV, Owen looked round and frowned. "What car did the others use?" He had just noticed Toshiko's Polo in its usual place.

"The Rav." I started the engine and we were off, through the barrier and up the ramps and out of the car park.

"Suzie's Rav? We keeping that?" He was in the back seat, booting up the computers and checking on events in Pentwyn.

"Don't know. It could come in useful." I was in Pierhead Street and heading for the Central Link which would avoid some of the crowded city streets.

"Suppose. There's been another 999 call. Want me to call off the cops?"

"Not until we know what we're dealing with, they could be useful."

"And pigs might fly!"

For the rest of the journey I concentrated on the driving – we couldn't avoid the busy city streets altogether and it was frustrating when I couldn't get through as fast as I wanted – while he fed me information as it became available. The two 999 calls were from residents in the same street who had seen a figure – large and dressed in a tattered clothes – staggering around a neighbour's garden before tottering off towards a park. The police were giving this low priority, presumably believing the middle-class residents were getting uptight about a harmless drunk or homeless person invading their neighbourhood. I swung off Eastern Avenue and slowed, following Owen's directions to the large Leisure Centre.

"It's here," he pronounced, peering out of the windows. "We're on top of it."

"I don't see anything." The scene before me was scraggy undulating grass, a few flower beds, a children's playground, some overgrown bushes and weedy trees. I moved out of the Centre's car park and onto the walkways, driving slowly and peering into the bushes. "Help me out here, Owen."

"It's right here," he insisted.

And it was. I slammed on the brakes as a figure came out of a hedge on the right and stood motionless in front of the vehicle staring at me. He was around six feet tall in a shredded top and trousers with what looked like burns down one side of his face. The mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

"Christ, what happened to him?" Owen was checking his Glock and reaching for the sedatives on the seat beside him with one hand at the same time as tapping at the keyboard with the other.

"Don't know. Scans telling you anything?"

My wrist-strap scanner was getting nothing positive other than the figure was humanoid which I could see for myself. Could this be another unfortunate who had been taken from Earth only to be returned just as precipitately? If it was I had to get him to Flat Holm. But the more information I got from the scan the less likely it appeared and, I remembered, the Rift spike had not been negative like all the others when people had been returned.

"Human, or was. It's dead. We've got ourselves a zombie!" Owen sounded positively gleeful. "Let's catch it, just think we could find out about 'em."

"Hold up. Weapons?"

"Nope." He had opened the door and was on his way out as he spoke.

I bailed out after him, keeping watch on the motionless figure as Owen rooted around in the boot before joining me with a net in his hand. We tried catching the zombie, we really did, spent half an hour chasing the bloody thing over the park or ducking and diving to avoid its attacks on us. For a dead man he moved bloody fast. But when it ignored us and focussed on the kids' playground and the people there it was time to get real. I shot it in the head and it fell to the ground in a heap.

"What'd you do that for?" complained Owen. "I'd have had it another couple of minutes."

"And he'd have had those kids. I'll get the SUV."

We loaded the body, that stank by the way, into a body bag and then put it in the back of the SUV. Before we could set off back to the Hub the police turned up - over an hour after the first emergency call. Someone had reported us chasing round the park and called it in. I tried ignoring them but they weren't having any of it. Luckily Owen came to the rescue, spinning a tale involving the local psychiatric hospital, Providence Park, and an escaped inmate. He even had the right credentials – courtesy of Toshiko – to back it up. After fifteen minutes' chat, they reluctantly let us get on. As a parting shot, and as they'd been so irritating, we told them we'd see another man wandering the streets; let them waste their time searching the area for a hour or two, serves them right.

"I still say we should have kept it alive." Owen had been bitching all the way back to the base and was still going strong as we carried the body into the medical bay.

"Zombies have a habit of making others like them. It was too risky."

"That would be so cool, the living dead." He dumped his end of the body bag on the floor and proceeded to stagger round the place with his arms outstretched in front of him. "Aaargghh!" he gargled, pulling a face.

"Careful what you wish for! Now stop buggering about and open the drawer."

We'd spent an hour and a half on that little side trip and most of the morning was gone. Owen got us some coffee and we sat in the work area drinking it. I let Eddy out for a run around – item four on Ianto's list of things to do - and he went straight up the tiled wall. Pesky creature wouldn't come down no matter what we did so I had to climb on the furniture to get him. Sounds easy, but he thought it was a game and kept moving so I was forever chasing him to the sound of Owen's laughter. I'd have left Eddy where he was but item five of the list was a clear instruction not to let him get lost in the Hub. Finally, I caught him and put him back in the carry case where he was going to stay for the rest of the day if I had my way.

"Want to do Parnell or get some lunch?" asked Owen from the comfort of his chair. He'd sat and watched me chase Eddy without lifting a finger to help.

"That the time?" It was eleven thirty five. "We should have heard from Tosh by now." I checked my mobile but there were no missed calls or texts.

"You know them, they'll be double and triple checking everything." Owen was clearly not worried. "So, do I get Parnell up?" He was using his PC to bring up the CCTV from the cells.

"Okay." I was only listening with half an ear as I speed dialled Toshiko's number; it went to voice mail. "Tosh, call me soon as you get this." It was silly but I was worried about them. Their trip was supposed to be simple reconnaissance, in and out, but who knew what complications they had encountered.

"Meet you in the interrogation room," called Owen as he strode off to the cells.

Parnell was a pale shadow of the blustering man I'd met the day before. Twenty four hours in the cells with Weevils for company had knocked all the bravado out of him and he was whimpering and weeping. It was a pathetic sight but the pictures of the injuries he had inflicted on the Gethrill – spread out on the table in front of him – were reminder enough of what he had done and I had no sympathy for him. We questioned him hard, getting him to write out the names of everyone he'd invited to his fight parties and pressing him for all the other information we could get. He spilled everything, words falling over themselves as he tried to give us what we wanted. He was a snivelling wretch when Owen took him back to the cells and I was pleased to see the back of him.

In the work area I checked my mobile again – nothing. I tried Toshiko and Ianto and only got their voice mail. I left messages for both of them, urgent ones, regretting sending them off on their own. God knows what they were doing up there.

"Still nothing?" asked Owen.

"No." Standing, mobile still in my hand, I thought what to do next. Were they just being ultra cautious and making a thorough job of looking over the buildings? Had they got talking to the salesmen and weren't able to get away? Had the mobile coverage gone down? Had they found the Cyberman? That sent a shiver down my spine. "It's not like them."

"Yes it is! They turned their comms off last time," retorted Owen, remembering when they had been left in Cardiff while the rest of us had gone to Epping Forest. "They'll be fine. Now, how about lunch? Pizza?"

I nodded, partly reassured but still uneasy and wishing I'd made them take their comms earpieces despite the possibility of detection. Owen was calling Jubilee Pizza when my mobile rang and I answered it quickly. It wasn't one of the voices I wanted to hear. Helen Yardley, matron at Flat Holm, started talking almost immediately and I walked into the office and closed the door so Owen couldn't hear anything of the conversation. She needed more supplies and I listened to her list them all in great detail, unable to get a word in to tell her she could have the money. I'd always given her what I could, hiding it in the budget under a fictitious accommodation account: Suzie had queried it once or twice but then left it alone. I'd need to hide it from Ianto too, now he was doing the budget, but that shouldn't be a problem. After more chat with Helen, who was delighted to be getting the additional funds, I accessed the on-line bank account and authorised the transfer before I forgot.

Owen reappeared from upstairs carrying four pizza boxes and some extras. He took two boxes and some bottled water to the cells for Evans and Parnell leaving the rest for us. I determined to eat lunch and then check on Toshiko and Ianto again. It was gone one thirty and the pair of them should have been on their way back to Cardiff. Perhaps the Rav had broken down and they were stranded without mobile coverage. But most routes were well covered, unless they'd decided to go the long way through the Beacons. My heart stopped beating for a moment: there had been a lot of disappearances in that area, they were all noted in a file on my desk.

I abandoned any thought of lunch and sat at Toshiko's desk, tracking the GPS signal given out by their mobiles. Both were static on the A482 near Pumsaint eight miles from Lampeter. Had they found a pub and stopped for lunch? Had they broken down? Whichever, why weren't they returning my calls? I called them both once more, waiting impatiently as the connection was made; both phones rang and then went to voice mail. Something was wrong, very wrong.

I called Hari Patel at UNIT. "Hari, I need your people to keep an eye on the Rift. We're all out of Cardiff until further notice." I ignored his queries and ended the call. Owen had come back while I was talking and looked at me quizzically.

"What's going on?"

"The Rav is stationary just outside Lampeter and neither Tosh nor Ianto is answering their phones. We're going to find them." I was in the office by now, grabbing Webley and greatcoat before striding back out. "Come on."

Owen had his jacket on and was putting his Glock in his pocket. "I'm sure they'll be fine," he said but I detected concern in his voice that hadn't been there before. He scooped up the pizzas and bags from the coffee table. "We'll eat on the way."

I took the direct route, along the M4 to its western end at Pont Abraham, up the A483 and A40 before joining the A482. I kept up a steady ninety on the motorway before dropping down to sixty or less on the other roads which were only two way. Owen, chomping on his pizza and garlic bread in the back seat, was performing scans of the Lampeter site as we drove and finding nothing out of the ordinary. I couldn't bring myself to eat and my pizza got cold on the seat beside me.

"Pumsaint coming up, just a couple of miles. Still nothing from their phones," reported Owen two hours after we'd started off.

Using the GPS reading from Toshiko's mobile he directed me to a picnic area just off the main road where we found the Rav. There was no sign of Toshiko or Ianto.

* * *

_What has happened to Tosh and Ianto? Will they be all right? Find out in the next chapter. And a big thank you once again for your continuing support, both reviews and alerts, it is much appreciated - Jay_


	70. Chapter 70

_Will Tosh and Ianto be found? Read on to find out ..._

* * *

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy

"Careful."

I held out an arm to keep Owen back and edged closer to the Rav. It was parked under some trees in one corner of the picnic area. Half a dozen other cars were dotted about, all of them empty, and the only sounds were the wind in the trees and occasional traffic on the road. Now beside the car, I looked in the driver's side window. The keys were in the ignition and Toshiko's large bag lay on the seat in full view but there was nothing else. No sign of her. Or Ianto.

"Jack, anything?" asked Owen anxiously. He was only a couple of paces behind me.

"No." I scanned the vehicle, checking for booby traps; nothing. Reaching out a hand, I tried the driver's door and it opened. Owen had come closer and peered over my shoulder as I looked in Toshiko's bag. It contained the normal detritus every woman considers essential to carry around with her along with a PDA and, in a side pocket, the mobile phone.

"Nothing here." There was a relieved edge to Owen's voice. He had opened the boot and I suppose, like me, had dreaded finding the bodies of our colleagues. He stood looking round, scanning the area for signs of them. I adjusted the scan on my wrist-strap and moved away from the car. Was that something? I took another pace to the north east, into the tree cover. Yes!

"I'm picking up Ianto's phone." When we'd started out, both phones were giving the same reading so we'd just used Toshiko's. Now it appeared they were in separate places. "Grab the PDA and a med kit and lock both cars," I ordered, walking into the surrounding woodland.

The ground was uneven and covered with brambles and other vegetation that clung to our clothes and pricked us. I battled through, blazing a trail for Owen to follow, and ignored the cuts to my face, hands and legs as I shoved the branches aside. A bit further on we came to a dip with muddy water in the bottom and sank into the smelly mud up to our ankles as we waded through. We'd gone about a mile when Owen stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" I'd heard nothing, concentrating on the signal to the exclusion of all else. The phone was around another half mile ahead, as far as I could judge. I just hoped that, when we got there, it would be more than just the phone.

"Listen!" We stood listening and I was about to give up when there was a faint cry.

"That's Tosh!" said Owen, pushing past me and leading the way as fast as he could go. He charged the vegetation like a knight on a white horse with me on his heels.

So far I had concentrated on finding our missing colleagues but now, in what would hopefully be the final few metres, I wondered what exactly we would find at the end of our search. There had been no signs of a struggle at the car, no reason to assume they had been harmed, and yet I had a dreadful feeling that I'd let them walk into a trap. Toshiko appeared to be alive if it was her we could hear but what about Ianto? Was he okay? Was he alive? My heart was in my mouth as we crashed through the last obstacle and into a small clearing and saw two bodies lying on the ground.

It was them.

Toshiko was lying on her right side, arms and legs tightly bound and a rag of some sort round her chin. A gag, I realised, one she'd managed to work loose. Beside her lay Ianto, on his front, also bound but still and silent. Owen had gone to Toshiko and was helping her sit up. He was saying something but I didn't register the words, all my attention was on Ianto. Kneeling beside him, I turned him over with difficulty; he's a big lad and was heavy. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily though his nose, a gag in his mouth. But he was breathing! He was alive! I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and grabbed him, pulling him into my arms.

"Jack, you listening to me!?" Owen, of course, insistent as ever. I looked over to where he was supporting Toshiko. "Is he all right?"

"I … He's alive." I swallowed hard and looked down at Ianto again, pushing the gag out of his mouth to help his breathing. The handsome face was pale and there was blood clotted at his temple, a bruise on his left cheek and a split in his lip. And his suit was dirty and torn, like Toshiko's clothes. But he was alive!

"They hit him harder than me," came as a croak from Toshiko. "He's been so still. I wasn't sure if he was all right." She burst into tears, relief and shock no doubt, and Owen cradled her in his arms much as I was doing with Ianto. He kissed the top of her head and I took a moment to smile at the image they presented; they deserved to find happiness together.

With a penknife from one my capacious coat pockets, I cut through the bindings on Ianto's legs and arms as Owen did the same for Toshiko. Their circulation was sluggish so we rubbed their limbs to encourage the blood to flow again. Owen checked them both for injuries. Toshiko was fine, bruised and dehydrated - I kicked myself for not bringing some water with us – but Ianto had been roughed up more than her. He was still unconscious which worried me but Owen was quick to reassure me and Toshiko that he would be fine.

"They gave us something," she said, sitting with her knees up to her chest and Owen's jacket draped round her shoulders for added warmth. "Some kind of drug."

"Can't have been anything much. Probably just something to knock you out," assured Owen. I caught his eye and he indicated he meant it, wasn't just spinning a line for her benefit.

We hushed her when she started to tell us what had happened, there was time for that later. Most important thing now was to get them back to the cars and we started out. Owen helped support Toshiko who was unsteady on her feet and I hefted Ianto onto my shoulder. Luckily we found a path so did not have to go back through the undergrowth; I couldn't have managed if we'd had to do that. As I said before, Ianto's a heavy lad and it wasn't long before I had to take a rest.

"We can carry him between us," offered Owen. Now there's a man who knows his limitations, no way he was going to offer to carry Ianto on his own.

"No, it's okay," I puffed. "Just give me a minute." It was hard to believe that only last night I'd carried Ianto through the Hub without any difficulty but he had been co-operating then.

"Nuhhh." Ianto stirred. He was sitting on a rock leaning against me. "No!" His eyes opened and he looked round, pushing me away. He'd have toppled backwards if I hadn't grabbed his suit jacket and stopped him.

"It's all right, Ianto, it's all right."

"Jack …" He smiled and relaxed into my arms, resting his head on my shoulder before starting up a moment later. "Tosh! Where's Tosh?"

"I'm here, Ianto. I'm fine." She was standing beside me now, reaching a hand to cup the boy's cheek.

Five minutes later, Ianto was able to stand which he did, leaning on me. We'd taken only a step, following the others, when he stopped, reaching a hand to his groin. "That's odd."

"What are you doing!? There's a time and a place, Ianto." I couldn't help but smile. He ignored me, turned away slightly and opened his fly, reaching inside his trousers. "Ianto!" I hissed, grinning like a loon. "What is it? Do you need to pee?"

His hand emerged clutching … not what I'd expected. We both looked at his mobile phone. "I didn't put that in there," he said wonderingly, handing it to me as he zipped up again.

"Umm, still warm." I waggled my eyebrows. "Come on."

We started walking again, my hand under his elbow, and made it back to the parking area. The place was still deserted which suited us and I sat Ianto on the open back of the SUV while Owen cleaned up his scratches. Both Ianto and Toshiko were drinking from the bottles of water we always keep in the vehicle and tucked into the stone cold pizza that had been intended for my lunch; this helped them recover more quickly than anything else.

"Okay. So what happened?" I asked.

"We found the Cyberman." Toshiko was sitting alongside Ianto, her feet dangling.

"Shit!" came from Owen. He had retrieved the chocolate from the SUV's glove compartment and was handing it round.

Ice water ran through my veins as I realised what I'd sent these two – the least experienced and worst equipped members of the team – to face. What the hell had I been thinking!? "Tell me. Last I knew, you'd arrived at the shop." Between them they told us. They didn't elaborate, there would be time for that later, sticking to the basics of the story.

"We got to the place and looked round the garden furniture. The sales guy was pushy and we must have been talking to him for a good half an hour. I don't think he suspected anything. We shook him off to look round the plants and I scanned the back building, the one we were interested in. People were inside, at least half a dozen, and so we left, drove a little way up the road and cut back on foot behind some other properties to take a look." Toshiko must have seen my face as she immediately added, "I know you said to keep away but we didn't think there would be any danger."

"I told you that for a reason, Tosh!" She was so reckless at times and it seemed any sense she had went out the window when she was with Ianto. "You should have called me."

"I wanted to have something to tell you!"

"We," put in Ianto, "we wanted to have something to tell you." He put a hand over hers and looked at me defiantly.

"Go on." What was I going to do with the pair of them!?

"We were at the side of the building when we were caught, a couple of guys we didn't see came up behind us." She at least looked embarrassed; she should have been more careful. "They took us into the building and there was the Cyberman." She gulped and shivered and Ianto was very still. "It was … terrifying."

"Was it activated?" I demanded, taking a step closer. I had to know - one active Cyberman could take over the world. "Tosh!"

"Take it easy, Jack," warned Owen, putting an arm round Toshiko's shaking shoulders.

"No," said Ianto, "it wasn't. It was on a trolley, like Hannibal Lecter in that film." The boy's voice was unnaturally calm with almost no inflection. He must have been even more terrified than Toshiko to see the creatures that still haunted his dreams.

"What happened to it?" I had a hand on Ianto's shoulder now, partly to reassure him but mainly to encourage him to speak faster.

"They loaded it on a van and took it away."

"Where?"

"Cardigan. One of the men said something about a boat."

"That's right, Jack," added Toshiko. "They said they couldn't wait because the boat would be sailing on the two o'clock tide."

"Damn!" We'd missed capturing it again. The bloody thing kept eluding us. If we'd come here yesterday, come in force, we'd have had it and the world would have been safe. Now it was loose again. "Do you know where they were taking it?" They both shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, Jack, we messed up." Toshiko looked as miserable as she sounded and Owen glared at me over her shoulder.

"No, Tosh, no you didn't. Neither of you did." I smiled at them. It was a bit forced, I'll admit that, but it was what they needed to hear. Besides, I was the one who had messed up. Not only had I missed the Cyberman, I'd almost lost these two. "What did they do with you?"

"They found our Torchwood IDs. One of them, the boss, ordered us tied up. We were kept there until the boat had sailed. We fought back when they moved us which is when they hit us and then gave us an injection. I don't remember anything else until I woke up in the wood back there." Toshiko gulped again and took a deep breath. "I got the gag off and it wasn't long before you two showed up."

"Why didn't they kill us?" asked Ianto. "Why tell us what they were going to do and then leave us alive to tell the tale?"

"Because they didn't need to." It was clear to me now, now it was too late. "There'll be no trace of them or the Cyberman back at that shop and everyone there will deny all knowledge of everything. The boat's sailed and the Cyberman's gone. The birds have flown. Why piss us off unnecessarily?"

"And they made it easy to find these two," added Owen as realisation came to him. "The vehicle was here and would have been reported sometime. And there are walkers around who would have come across Tosh and Ianto before too long."

"Plus they left the mobiles with them, switched on," I added. "One in the car and one … on Ianto's person," I grinned at him, "so we could track them down. No, they didn't want you dead, just out of the way for a while."

No one had anything to say to this. I was regretting the loss of the Cyberman but there were ways we could track it. The satellites would show when the van left Lampeter and the ship that received its cargo could also be tracked. All was not lost on that front. Most importantly, Toshiko and Ianto were alive and well; a bit battered and bruised maybe but essentially okay. I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd lost them, not so soon after Suzie and not Ianto at all. We had a connection and I wanted to explore it for as long as possible before The Doctor appeared. Jeez, I'm seriously smitten!

"We need to get back to Cardiff. Tosh and I'll take the Rav," Owen had a hand under her arm, helping her down, "you and Ianto can follow us."

"Huh! Think you'd be able to keep up with me!?"

"Oh Christ, you're going make this a race now, aren't you?" he groaned. "You rather come with us, teaboy?"

Ianto shook his head and smiled. "No, I'll stick with Lewis Hamilton here."

Ten minutes later we were on our way having made plans to meet up at the White Horse in Llandeilo for a wash and brush up and a drink. I hoped they'd still be serving food; I was hungry having missed lunch for the second day running. Owen roared out of the car park and I let him go. It was only half an hour to the pub, I'd start the race after we left. Ianto was quiet when we emerged onto the road and I placed a hand on his thigh.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." His hand came down on top of mine and he interweaved our fingers. "It was a bit of a shock seeing a Cyberman again."

"I bet."

He twisted slightly to face me. "It wasn't your fault, Jack. Tosh and I should have known better. If we'd called you maybe we'd have captured it and those men."

"Maybe." I paused then added, "I'm disappointed we missed the Cyberman, obviously, but there are ways we can track it down. And you and Tosh took stupid risks but the most important thing is … that you're both okay. I couldn't have borne to lose you."

He smiled briefly then looked away, his fingers staying with mine until I had to use that hand to indicate. I didn't know what he was thinking but it didn't seem like good thoughts as his expression, what I could see of it, was … bleak. The road twisted and turned until we met the larger A40 and headed south. The Rav was some way in the distance and I wondered how Owen and Toshiko were getting on. Were they sitting in silence like Ianto and me? God, we're a right load of idiots! None of us will admit to feeling anything for anyone and will stay alone and lonely unless we do something about it and soon. Should I speak to Ianto, tell him how I felt? I wanted to but then all the baggage I carried with me got in the way again. I couldn't dump that on him, especially not at this moment.

"Jack, what's that smell?" He was sniffing noisily and glancing at me. "It's you."

"You always say I smell good!"

"Yeah, but this … Why are your feet wet?"

"Had to wade through some mud." I sniffed now and got a whiff of mouldy earth, similar to that I'd come across on the Western Front back in 1915.

"Well you'd better clean it off or I'm riding in the Rav." He pointedly opened a window and leant against it.

That's the thanks I get for rescuing him!


	71. Chapter 71

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy One

The White Horse Inn is a run-of-the-mill modernised pub, large open plan bar with a small restaurant at the back and a few upstairs rooms to let as B&B accommodation. There weren't many customers that Friday afternoon, just a few office-types making an early start to the weekend and some tourists. We visited the cloakrooms first to make ourselves a bit more respectable. Ianto made Owen and me remove our muddy socks and chuck them away and wash our boots of the dried stuff - I hate wearing boots without socks but I had no choice, it was that or go barefoot - while he washed his face and wiped the dirt from his suit. He must have got through a gross of paper towels. I was the first to be ready and went out to order some drinks. Choosing a round table at the back I sat waiting for my colleagues. Toshiko was the first to join me, looking cleaner.

"Is this for me?" she asked, reaching for the Spritzer, her favourite.

"Uh-huh. You got any paper in that sack of yours?"

"It's a handbag. Maybe." She was rooting around in the enormous shoulder bag; she must have permanent backache from toting it around with her. "Wouldn't you prefer the PDA?"

"No, I'm an old-fashioned guy."

It was strange but true. When I was growing up on Boeshane we all used pads with touch screens or styluses and I didn't see paper or pens until the Time Agency taught me how to use them, to my great amusement. But when I'd landed on Earth back in the 1800s and there had been no alternative, I'd come to really enjoy writing with a pen or pencil and the smell of paper was quite heady. Now that screens are available to me again, even in the current primitive form, I stick to paper and pencil.

With a tatty notebook of Toshiko's and a stub of pencil I always carried in a pocket, I set about making a list. There was a lot to sort out when we got back to the Hub and I didn't want to forget any of it. With just the four of us we were going to be pushed to get it all done. I had just about finished when Owen and Ianto joined us.

"God, I need this." Owen raised his beer bottle to his lips and drank half of it in one gulp. "Any chance of some food?"

"I ordered soup and some sandwiches. Shouldn't be long." I sipped from my water.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding towards my scribblings. "What are you up to now?"

"Making a list of all we've got to do." With a final flourish I added the last note and tore the page from the notebook pushing the latter across the table. "Thanks, Tosh."

"That doesn't sound good. Maybe I should order some more drinks." He started getting up as the waitress appeared with a large tray of covered soup dishes and walked towards us.

"You're driving," cautioned Ianto, clearing a space on the table for the soup and the basket of crusty bread that went with it.

"A couple of beers aren't going to affect me!"

He went off to the bar to order a second beer, the only one who wanted another drink, while the rest of us started on the chunky vegetable soup that smelt and tasted delicious. None of had much to say as we ate, too busy enjoying the hot food. The sandwiches arrived, six rounds with a selection of fillings, with crisps for garnish.

"Let's go over what needs to be done when we get back," I said, pushing away my soup bowl. "Tosh, you start on the report of what happened today. I need that documented before I talk to Colonel Mace. Ianto, you can look it over first thing tomorrow when Tosh is out and see if there's anything you want to add."

"About tomorrow, Jack," began Toshiko, "I don't need to have the day off. I'll call my brother and cancel." I'd expected this, she's too conscientious for her own good.

"No, Tosh, you're having the day off just like we agreed. It's been a heck of a week. You've been blown up, drugged and dumped in a wood! You need a break." I met her gaze and she shrugged in reluctant acceptance. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not going home tonight until that report is done."

"What about the Cyberman?" asked Ianto quietly. "It's out there somewhere."

"I'll do that. Should be able to track the van and the boat and see where it's going using the satellites. When I've got that, and the report, I'll see what Mace has to say. Probably be up to UNIT to take it from there." I took a bite of a sandwich and chewed, checking my list. "Next priority is Evans and Parnell. Owen, that's yours. We've got to Retcon them so they forget the Gethrill and set up the cover story ready for their release. I want to set them loose tomorrow morning, early."

"So I'm doing an all-nighter," he said with resignation. "Oh joy."

"I could stay for that. I've already done a lot of the cover story." Toshiko, of course, volunteering yet again. "It'd be quicker if I did it."

"The report takes precedence. Do that fast enough and I may, I stress may, allow you to assist Owen. But you're leaving by midnight, Tosh, no later." She seemed to accept this ultimatum but I bet she volunteers again before I'm through. "We've also got to Retcon all those who were at Parnell's 'fight club'. There's twelve of them."

"Am I ever going to see home again?" Owen said sardonically as he took a pull on his beer.

"Ianto and I'll help with that. He'll track them down and between us, all three of us, we'll catch them alone and administer the Retcon. Long as they're all done tomorrow, we'll be okay."

"And I autopsy the zombie at the same time I suppose? Christ, Jack, how we gonna get all this done!?" Owen was sitting forward now, glaring at me.

"What zombie?" Ianto was puzzled, his egg and cress sandwich stopped halfway to his mouth.

"Oh we've been busy too, teaboy. We've not been lying down on the job like you two," replied Owen with lashings of sarcasm.

I ignored him. "The autopsy can wait. You can do that when you write up the report." He rolled his eyes at that and took another sandwich, stuffing it in his mouth. "And yes, Ianto, we found a zombie this morning. Had to kill it. Well, finally kill it."

"UNIT will be pressing for the report on the Gethrill," said Toshiko. I knew what was coming next, yet another attempt to give up her day off. "And there's a report to be written on that too."

"Both of which will be your first priority for Sunday. I'm not letting you work tomorrow, Tosh, understand?"

She sighed heavily. "All right, I give up. But I'm coming back with you so I can start on the report."

We left the pub just after five and headed back to Cardiff. I had both Toshiko and Owen in the back of the SUV; she was working on the Lampeter report while overseeing Owen who was doing the cover story for Evans and Parnell. It didn't seem fair that I was deprived of Ianto's company but someone had to drive the Rav back. We stayed in convoy for most of the journey until I got tired of travelling under the speed limit and put my foot down. We'd been back a good twenty minutes and were at our desks when he called me on my mobile at a little before seven.

"Ianto, what's up?"

"_I'll be about an hour, sir. I need to do something. Some personal business."_

"What?" I was taken aback and had no idea what he was up to.

"_It's nothing much. Like I said, it's personal."_ There was a pause. _"I'll explain later." _

"Is everything all right, Ianto? You feeling okay?" I was concerned but in some ways not surprised he needed some time to himself. He's that sort of guy, works things out on his own before saying anything to other people. Not that I thought of myself as other people; I thought of us as being much closer than that.

"_Fine. Really, Jack, I'm fine. There's just something I have to do. See you soon."_ He ended the call and I stared at the mobile for a while before returning it to my pocket. I wondered what he was up to, of course I did, but it really was so busy that I didn't have the time to spend thinking about him for long. I had to help Owen.

He had worked up the cover story for Evans and Parnell, altering their phone records and bank accounts and creating other evidence to show they had organised a contraband smuggling ring bringing vanloads of cheap booze and cigarettes from the Continent to sell to clubs and small retailers thus avoiding VAT and the rest. The Customs guys are hot on this, almost as much as the taxman; neither like money to slip through their fingers. On the ride back, Owen had got creative and suggested planting false memories in Evans and Parnell's minds so they would believe the cover story was true. The mind-suggestion device - such a snappy name! - had come through the Rift two years ago and Owen had been playing with it ever since. We had tried it a few times, with patchy results, and I was persuaded to try it again.

Leaving Toshiko to finish up her report on the Cyberman – she was typing so fast I thought the keyboard would catch fire – Owen and I went to the cells. We retconned both Evans and Parnell leaving them for fifteen minutes or so to pass out. Rather than drag the men to the upper levels, we set up a chair and the device in one of the empty cell blocks.

"I don't know how you talked me into this. It's failed more often than it's worked," I observed.

"All the more reason to try it again. The more experience I get, the better I'll be able to operate it. Besides, what have we got to lose?"

"Nothing I suppose." It was true. Either the men would completely lose their memories for the past couple of months or they'd 'remember' our fake contraband scheme. It didn't affect our plan either way.

I stood back and regarded our handiwork. It all looked a bit Heath Robinson. The chair was metal-framed with a canvas seat and back and struts to keep it steady. On a table to the left was the device, a melon shaped body with two long probes which went into the subject's ears; there had been three probes when we'd found it which had given rise to lots of speculation about the species that had invented it. We'd already loaded in the basic facts about the cover up and Evans was the first to try our makeshift arrangements. We carried him in and when he was strapped to the chair Owen inserted the probes and turned on the device. It hummed a bit and seemed to be working. There are tiny filaments that connect to the brain cortex, especially the hippocampus, and use neurons to implant the false memories. Twenty minutes later it was Parnell's turn and we stood and watched as it hummed away again. As we put him back in the cell Owen reckoned the mind-suggestion device had worked though we wouldn't know for sure until they came round at which time they had to be well away from the Hub.

All in all, we had been in the cells for nearly an hour and a half. The Retcon would keep both men unconscious for several more hours, long enough for the next part of the cover story. We would dump them at the St Mellons warehouse in the early hours of the morning with some physical evidence of their supposed scheme so that when the police responded to our tip-off they would be suspicious enough to check the records we'd so carefully set up.

"I need a coffee," declared Owen as we reached the main level. He looked around for Ianto but there was no sign of him. "Tosh," he called, "where's the teaboy?"

"He took Eddy down to the playroom for some exercise." She was still bashing the keyboard and barely lifted her head. "There's fresh coffee in a thermos in the kitchen. I'd like one if you're getting some for yourself."

"Me too," I told him.

Owen went off to get the drinks while I hesitated. Should I go and check on Ianto? We needed to start on locating the twelve other men involved in torturing the Gethrill but that wasn't urgent; I didn't intend getting to them until tomorrow. I wanted to see Ianto, naturally, but perhaps he had absented himself for a reason. Besides, I couldn't really spare the time if I was going to locate the Cyberman. Reluctantly I went to the office and accessed the satellite feeds, settling in for a long haul. It was a couple of hours before I was interrupted.

"Jack, here's the draft report." Toshiko was standing in the office holding out a folder. "I've managed to identify a couple of the men who were involved. Owen's got the papers to leave on Parnell and Evans and the rest of the cover is in place."

"Thanks, Tosh." I glanced at my watch and saw it was coming up to ten o'clock. "Time you were getting off."

"There's no rush. How's it coming with the satellites?"

"Not too bad. The van did go to Cardigan and a large crate, large enough to contain the Cyberman, was loaded onto a fishing boat, the _Mary Jane_. It's a bit harder to track that but so far it's headed west. I'm assuming it's going to Ireland."

"Why there?" She was sitting on the edge of the visitor's chair now. "I didn't find any links between Henry Parker and Ireland."

I leant back in my chair, easing cramped muscles from where I had been hunched over the keyboard. "Probably not staying there. Best guess? They're going to load it onto a small plane and fly it out. Lots of private airfields they could use."

"To Tanizaki in Geneva?" The Cybernetics expert was still their best bet for getting the Cyberman operational.

"Possibly. Though after the UNIT raid they may prefer somewhere less obvious." I smiled at her. "But that can wait. You should get off home."

"Yeah, okay." She stood. "If you need me tomorrow, you will call?"

"Promise. Now go."

I watched her go back to her desk and start packing up. Owen had a few words with her then came into the office. "I'm going to nip home, Jack. Grab a shower and a change of clothes. Be back by midnight, okay?"

"Make sure you are."

The two of them walked out together. I wondered just where Owen was going to get his shower – his place or Toshiko's? They did appear to be getting closer. My gaze travelled across the Hub to the far corner where Ianto was sitting at his desk staring at the screen. He'd been there a while now, getting stuck into locating the twelve men. We hadn't spoken, not properly, and I decided now was the time to find out what had been so important. After bookmarking the satellite feed I got up and stretched hearing my joints pop then sauntered over towards Ianto.

"Want a drink?" I called. I was trying to be casual, hoping he would volunteer details of what he had been up to.

"A beer, please."

I went and got water for me and his beer and went over to lean on his desk. "Here. How's it going?"

"Good. They're easy to find. I've got details of eight of them. Four live alone so we could go in tonight and Retcon them, the others have partners so we'll have to wait and catch them alone." He reached for the beer and took a swallow.

"Excellent." I sipped the water and waited.

"Ah, Jack, about this evening. Me taking off like that. I'm sorry but … um, well I needed to .." He went quiet again, looking at the beer bottle in his hand, the screen, anywhere but at me.

I waited again but the silence grew longer. "Are you going to tell me what was so important or do I have to beat it out of you?" I teased.

"Seeing a Cyberman again made me … Reminded me how short life can be." He looked at me then and I could see the shadows in his eyes. "If it had been activated," he shuddered, "I wouldn't be here now."

"But it wasn't and you are. Forget the maybes and the what ifs, Ianto, focus on the real." I reached a hand to his shoulder, caressing the patch of soft skin at his neck. "I'm sorry I sent you in there."

"I told you before, what happened is not your fault." His hand was on mine now and he smiled up at me. "And I'm glad I went. You see … it wasn't that I was frightened. Well, I was frightened but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that coming close to death again made me realise I can't keep putting things off. Not if I'm going to be true to myself." He took a deep breath. "And so I went to see Rhiannon and told her I'm bi."

I must have gaped at him; this boy is full of surprises.


	72. Chapter 72

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Two

"How did it go?" I was still recovering from the surprise. This boy had told his sister he was bi-sexual, something he had avoided for years. It was an important milestone for him and I was pleased he had found the courage but at the same time concerned; he wouldn't take rejection well.

He shrugged, rolled his eyes and leant back in his chair. "Good. Bad. I don't know." He sipped his beer. "How are these things supposed to go?"

"Tell me what happened." I went and got a chair and wheeled it over beside Ianto's desk and sat down. I had a feeling this was going to be a long discussion.

"It was so … silly! I was so silly! I got there. Mica was in bed and Rhiannon was washing up so, before I lost my nerve, I blurted it out. There, over the dirty dishes!" He smiled ruefully. "I was such a twat."

I was smiling too, amused at the normally controlled Ianto acting in such an uncharacteristic way. Perhaps that was the real Ianto, the one he would have been but for Canary Wharf and all the other horrors that had come his way. "How did she react?"

"Surprised but … not shocked. Not like I thought she would be." His expression became softer, more thoughtful. "She was … understanding. I should have told her ages ago."

"Sounds like it went really well."

"With her!" He sighed heavily. "Johnny came back, didn't he? I thought he was out at the pub but he'd only gone to collect David from a friend's house and she had to tell him! Right there, in front of David. He's only eight! I just wanted the floor to open up under me."

I couldn't help laughing at his forlorn expression. "Oh come here." I scooted the chair closer and wrapped him in a big hug. "At least they know now."

"Oh yeah, they know!" He pulled away from me. "Johnny thought it was hilarious, kept calling me 'gay-boy' and 'bender'. It'll be all over the neighbourhood by now. AND they'll tell the rest of the family."

"Which is what you wanted. It's done, you'll never have to do it again." I pulled his head close again and rested my forehead against his. "I'm proud of you." I kissed him and after a moment he responded.

"Really? You don't think I'm acting like an immature teenager?" His face was still close but he had pulled back a little and was gazing into my eyes.

"'Cos not." I sat back and took a swig of water. "How do you feel? Must be a relief."

He drank some more beer, eyes downcast as he thought about his answer. The small frown lines between his eyes intrigued me and I wanted to reach out and smooth them away but resisted. I didn't want him to clam up on me. He kept too much inside, bottled up his feelings behind a calm façade and rarely showed his true self.

"Yes, it is. But … I feel like I've lost something, something of me. Now that Rhiannon – and Johnny! – know I'm having to share a part of me that before was just mine." He looked over at me. "Does that make sense?"

"A little. I guess we all have some aspects of ourselves we'd like to keep hidden."

Some things, some feelings and actions, were too personal to share easily with others, they revealed a part of us that made us vulnerable or showed us in a bad light. Even in my small team I could see examples. Owen never shared his feelings about Katie as it would undermine the tough exterior he had developed to cope with her loss. Toshiko kept quiet about her detention by UNIT and what had led to it, too concerned that others would criticise her choices. And goodness knows what secrets Suzie had harboured, she had kept her entire personal life hidden. So much of my life has had to remain hidden too, initially for my own safety and now because no one would believe it. There were days when I wondered if it was true.

"The worst is still to come," sighed Ianto putting the empty beer bottle in his desk. "I got a text from Rhi. She wants to meet, to talk. In other words she wants to know all about my love life!"

"Then we'd better make sure you have something to tell her." I reached for him and was pleased when he laughed.

I would have taken him there and then but he was more circumspect and insisted on some privacy. Did he really think Myfanwy was interested? We went to my quarters, unused for quite some time, and I discovered a few more bruises on various parts of his person; he had been roughed up by experts. I kissed each bruise to make him all better, taking my time, and he was a quivering wreck by the time I got round to the main event. Afterwards we lay snuggled close together – the bunk is so narrow there's no alternative – and chatted until he dozed off. I left him there and went to the showers.

I had been back at my desk for forty minutes, continuing to trace the _Mary Jane_, the boat with the Cyberman aboard, and had got on well when Owen strolled through the cog door at a few minutes after midnight. He looked refreshed and I wondered again how he had spent his couple of hours. He had changed his clothes and shaved and his hair looked damp but that would still have left time for him and Toshiko to have a shag. I so wanted to know what they were up to!

He draped his jacket over the back of his chair and walked into the office. "Still quiet downstairs?" he asked as he sat down.

"Uh huh." I had checked the CCTV a couple of times and Evans and Parnell were sleeping peacefully. "We'll take them out at two. No need to be fancy, we can just break in and dump them."

"Where's Ianto?"

"Below, sleeping." I nodded towards the open hatch. "So keep your voice down."

"Huh! He gets to sleep while I have to work all night. How does he manage it?" I made to reply but he stopped me. "No, no you don't have to tell me. I suppose he deserves a few perks for having to sleep with you!"

"He's got a lot of bruises. Maybe you should have given him, and Tosh, a once over when they got back."

"I did Tosh. Ianto didn't come back straight away, remember? Found out where he went?"

"Yes." I said nothing more, just met his gaze levelly. Ianto's confidences were not mine to share with Owen and vice versa. "The Cyberman went to Ireland," I continued after a pause. "Small village called Fasagh on the coast south of Rosslaire. Got there early evening and was transferred to a lorry and taken to Waterford airport. It's not supposed to be international but a lot of private planes use it and flight plans can be falsified. I'm trying to find which plane it was put on."

"Off to Geneva I suppose."

"Maybe." There was no point in speculating, I'd know eventually when I'd fathomed out the Irish air control system, and I wanted to chat about other things with Owen. "You haven't had much time off lately, want to book some?"

He pulled a face. "Not desperate."

"I think you should. How about a day next week?" It had been a fortnight since he'd had a weekend off. Since then we'd been working non-stop and had the trauma of losing Suzie. Owen looked to be handling it well but he needed time to himself as much as the others.

"Let's see how it goes. You taking any time off?"

"Might do."

I really wanted a day with Ianto when we could relax and forget about Torchwood, like when we'd gone to Cardiff Castle. But we couldn't both be out until the team was back to full strength. Unless I got UNIT to help cover, that was always a possibility but one I didn't like much. Give those lads an opening and they'd be wanting to take over. I glanced at the open hatch and gestured Owen out of the office, closing the door gently behind me.

"What's up?" he asked. Standing with his arms folded across his chest.

"It's been a few days since Suzie. I wondered how you felt everyone was dealing with it, including you."

It was amazing that it was less than a week since we'd lost her. I missed her on the team, both when responding to Rift alerts and in the general organisation of the Hub, and yet the remaining team had pulled together and seemed to be working well. However a team of four was too small, even five was pushing it, and we missed the extra person to take up some of the slack. If I was to bring in a new person, I needed to know that the others were ready to accept him or her.

His arms dropped to his side and he reached for his chair. "It's weird. Seems ages since she was around but its, what, five days?" He sat down. "Personally … I miss her, I suppose, but with what we learnt about her," he shook his head, "I think we're better of without her. I'd say the others think the same. I haven't talked to 'em specifically but they seem okay to me."

"Good. If they do say anything, remind them Duncan's available. And I'll see what I can do about getting someone to join us. We can't go on with just four for much longer."

"You're right there. Any ideas?"

"One or two. Not sure yet but I'll keep you in the picture." Every time I thought about the problem, an image of the policewoman who had challenged me about the murders came to mind. She was feisty and persistent but I needed to dig a bit deeper, maybe see her in action, before making up my mind. "So you, and the others, you'd be okay about someone new?"

"Yeah, Tosh has mentioned it once or twice and I don't think Ianto'd mind. Just tell us what's going on. Don't want people turning up on the doorstep unannounced!"

We talked a bit more about this and the coming release of Evans and Parnell. He showed me the cover story he had set up once more. It looked solid but I made sure he set a reminder for himself to check all was well; it's easy to forget that stuff when we're out chasing down Weevils and whatnot. Must have been half an hour later, when we had almost finished, that the office door opened and Ianto appeared. He looked neat and tidy even though he was in jeans and sweatshirt - I swear he presses his jeans – and determined not to be embarrassed at coming from my bed. It was so cute.

"Time for coffee?" he asked, walking down by the water tower in the direction of the machine.

"Please."

"God, yeah," added Owen. He didn't even add a sarky comment.

When Ianto returned with three mugs of his delicious brew, we discussed the timetable of events. Owen and I would take Evans and Parnell and dump them at the Parnell & Son warehouse making as much show as we could before calling the police and alerting them. After watching until they were on the scene, we'd leave and visit some of Parnell's pals and administer the Retcon. Ianto pointed out that the SUV was rather obvious for this clandestine operation and suggested we use the RAV. It did make sense and Owen went off to obscure the number plates by attaching a gizmo Suzie had devised that interfered with CCTV cameras.

"I'll carry on with locating the other guys," said Ianto, gathering up the empty coffee mugs. "Unless you need me to do anything else?"

"You could keep an eye on police channels. The Rift's been quiet, luckily. Soon as we get back, you can go and get some proper sleep."

"I'm all right." He walked off to the kitchen and I admired the view; he has a great arse.

At one thirty we got Evans and Parnell up and loaded them into the Rav. Owen drove while I checked the list Ianto had given me. He had found three more of their pals who lived alone so we had seven to visit and Retcon – providing they had not got company, of course, but I doubted any self-respecting girl would want to hang out with these lowlifes. They were all in their late twenties or early thirties, either unemployed or in low-paying jobs, and their sole aim in life was to hang out together in pubs and get drunk. What a life! Although … I guess I'd not been much different when I was with the Time Agency. I'd had a better job than them but the drinking was the same.

The St Mellons industrial estate was dark and deserted as we drove along the access roads to the warehouse. Luckily neither it nor the neighbouring buildings employed security guards, relying on CCTV in case of burglary. We used bolt cutters on the chained gates before driving into the yard and depositing Evans and Parnell. I'd scrambled the closest cameras for a few minutes, using a device freely available in the shops; didn't want a visual record of Owen and me, just the unidentifiable Rav. With the bodies artistically placed, we headed out and Owen found a secluded spot in deep shadow on the other side of the estate that was still within scanning range and in sight of the main access road. I got Ianto to call in the tip-off figuring a Welsh accent would be more believable. Ten minutes later a police car sped past. Over the next half hour more cops appeared as well as an ambulance and we made a discreet withdrawal while they were otherwise engaged.

It took us four hours to get round the seven guys and Retcon them. They were spread out all round Cardiff, from Thornhill in the north to Barry Island in the south and from Pentrebane in the west to Trowbridge in the east. All of them were alone as I'd expected and we were able to get in, force them to take the pill – at a strength that would make them believe any lingering memories of the Gethrill were a dream – and get out. It was gone seven when we finally returned to the Hub where Ianto was waiting for us with restorative coffee and breakfast.

"That was bloody delicious!" declared Owen, sitting back and wiping his mouth. We'd had bacon and eggs with tomatoes and fried bread followed by toast and marmalade washed down with orange juice and more coffee.

"Umm," I agreed, chewing on my second piece of toast.

"You're welcome." Ianto was sitting in his usual spot at the Boardroom table with Eddy on the table beside him. The Eddykk, who had eaten his breakfast at the same time as us, was licking our empty plates. "What are the plans for today?"

I swallowed my mouthful of toast. "We need to Retcon the other five guys, that'll take most of the day if we have to wait for them to be on their own."

I hated hanging about watching and waiting for an opportunity but on this occasion it would be foolish to rush in and make a scene; why destroy all our good work? The cover story was holding up and the police were putting the pieces together just as we'd hoped. Evans and Parnell were in hospital for observation and also, I suspected, because that way the police knew where they were without having to use any of the statutory detention time before formal arrest. While it had not been part of our plan, the fact the two men had bruises and were unkempt from their time with us added support to the story.

"Why not get them together?"

"Oh right, teaboy, we just call 'em up and ask them to visit." commented Owen sarcastically. He held his hand up to ear as if he was making a phone call and, using a sing-song Welsh accent, said, "Hello, this is Torchwood, please come to our secret base and be drugged." In his normal voice he said, "Brilliant idea, I don't think!"

Ianto was unperturbed. "We tell them it's for something good," he said calmly, reaching to stop Eddy climbing off the table. "Tell them … they've won a prize or something." He now had Eddy in a firm grip and was wiping his face, removing all traces of his breakfast.

"Not a bad idea." I sipped my coffee. "Not here of course, but there are other places we could use." An idea occurred to me and I grinned. "A beer tasting. They get to try the beer and are paid fifty quid for their trouble."

"Even these blokes wouldn't fall for that," protested Owen. "Jack, this is such a bad idea."

"You'd rather follow them all day?" I waited for him to answer but he just shrugged and drank the last of his coffee. "Ianto and I'll arrange it, I want you to check on Evans and Parnell at the hospital. Find out if our mind-suggestion worked but be discreet, don't want them recognising you."

"Anything to get out of your little scam." He shoved his chair back and stood up. "I'll go now, should hit change of shift."

"Keep in touch." He left the room and I turned to Ianto, rubbing my hands. "So, how shall we do this?"


	73. Chapter 73

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Three

After some discussion Ianto and I refined our plan to get the five guys together to administer the Retcon. At nine, we sent a text message to their mobiles supposedly from Brains, the local brewery. It read: _'Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a free pint of Brains' The Rev. James. Come to The Mitre, Canton at eleven this morning. The first twenty will receive a voucher for more free beer'_. We varied the time, spacing them out by fifteen minutes so they wouldn't all arrive at once. To my delight, four of them texted back immediately accepting the offer; four out of five was an excellent result.

"I'm going to get back to tracing the Cyberman," I told Ianto. "When you get a minute, look through this." I handed him Toshiko's report on the events at Lampeter. "We'll leave for the pub around ten forty.

"Okay. I'll feed Myfanwy and the Weevils then I'll get changed and go upstairs."

"Don't change." I reached for him and pulled him close. "You look great in jeans." I nuzzled his neck, licking at the spot just under his ear. He shivered in response.

"If we're supposed to be brewery executives, we have to look the part. Maybe you should think about what you're going to wear too."

Pulling back in shock, I stared at him. "You want me to wear something else?"

"Just for the sake of the sting." He smiled, running a hand down the side of my face. "And you know I think you look great in anything. Or nothing."

I landed a smacker of a kiss on his lips; he says the nicest things. "But they won't be able to remember me," I pointed out. "We are going to give them Retcon."

"They may not but the pub staff will. Now, let me go so I can get on with my work."

"I'll think about it." I kept hold of him, grinning at him until he playfully hit my shoulder with the folder and pulled away.

He went off to the cells and I stood and watched him, enjoying the view until he disappeared through the archway with a little backwards wave. Humming to myself, I went to the office taking Eddy with me. The little Eddykk was stuffed after his breakfast and happy to curl up on my desk and go to sleep. Getting back to the search for the Cyberman, I tracked the private planes that had left Waterford airport after the arrival of the lorry the day before. There were a dozen and I methodically went through them all, checking their flight plans and then looking at the destinations to see if they had arrived. I'd done eight before I found a plane which had filed a flight plan for Glasgow but not arrived. Checking up on the plane, I discovered the company, Aerofreight, was owned by good old Henry Parker. This guy has fingers in so many pies. I don't know how he does it and still remain hidden away in his Lisvane mansion.

Tracking the plane took a lot longer. I was still at it when I heard Ianto walk through the Hub to the Tourist Office. I couldn't see him but no doubt he'd changed into a suit as he'd threatened. Owen returned at ten, shaking the rain from his jacket.

"They're doing okay," he reported, "no problems. From what the nurses said, looks like the mind-suggestion worked."

"Good."

"Tosh rang. Said she'll check with us when she's back in Cardiff tonight, in case we need her." Now this was interesting. Toshiko usually rang me about work matters but today she had rung Owen. They had to be getting closer.

"She rang you? Okay."

"Get that smirk of your face, Harkness," he growled. "I'll start cutting up the zombie."

"No, not yet." Special containment protocols came into play when dealing with zombies and I didn't want him tied up with that while Ianto and I were out of the base. "Ianto and I'll be going out soon, to Retcon these blokes." The fifth guy had finally texted back so we had a full house. "I need you to stay here and be available in case the Rift starts playing up."

"I can't believe that stupid scam of yours worked." He was standing leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed. "How long you going to be?"

"Hour, hour and a half maybe. Why don't you get on with the report on the zombie, do the autopsy this afternoon."

"Suppose." He ambled off and I went back to my search for the plane.

I still hadn't found it when Ianto appeared – in a suit - and pointed to his watch before going off to make coffee for Owen. Deciding he was right about my appearance – the boy usually is – I went to my quarters and looked out the leather jacket and wore this instead of my greatcoat.

"Here, look after him," I told Owen, putting Eddy on the man's untidy desk. The Eddykk stretched and yawned then settled back to sleep between a heap of papers, two medical textbooks, a Nintendo DS and bottles of … something. "Rift's still clear," I remarked, checking the monitor. "Call if you need me."

"Just go will you!" Owen sipped from the mug Ianto had placed on his desk.

The ride to Canton was quick and easy for once and we arrived before the pub opened. We were the first ones through the door and chose a table in a corner where we could see everyone entering and intercept them. A couple of minutes later Erwen Price, the first of Parnell's pals, arrived and Ianto and I went into the patter we'd worked out on the way over. After five minutes, Ianto had taken the guy to drink his spiked beer at another table round the corner while I waited for Dai Hopkins. The exercise worked like a dream. I greeted the men, got their beer and spiked it and, when the previous one had left, passed the new guy onto Ianto. It meant they had to drink their beer fast but these were seasoned drinkers and didn't find that a hardship.

"He's gone." Ianto slipped into the seat opposite me, a half drunk pint of lager in his hand. "I hope they don't pass out before they get home."

"Shouldn't. This batch has less sedative in it."

"Good, some of them were driving." He sipped his drink.

We sat in silence, finished our drinks then left. The pub, one of the old school, was filling up by this time with the usual Saturday lunchtime crowd; exclusively men who stood around the bar and talked loudly about sport and their latest sexual conquests. We checked in with Owen and stopped at a fish and chip shop to buy lunch taking it back with us to the Hub.

Lunch should have been a simple meal but it all went wrong when we walked through the door. Owen was pootling about in the medical bay getting his equipment ready for the autopsy and came up to meet us rubbing his hands in anticipation of food. Ianto was putting the packages on the table but this did not prevent him noticing an absentee.

"Where's Eddy?" he asked quickly, looking round. His carry case was on Toshiko's desk, empty.

"On my desk." Owen looked over and Ianto and I followed his gaze to see an untidy mess and no green ball of fluff. "Well he was." He went over and starting shifting the mess around, tipping some of it on the floor in his efforts.

"If he's hurt …" hissed Ianto abandoning the lunch in favour of starting his own search.

The pleasant thoughts I'd entertained of eating whilst watching Ianto bending and stretching were quickly dismissed when Ianto roped me in to help. We looked everywhere. Ten minutes in, I tried the scanners and my vortex manipulator but even on their most sensitive setting I couldn't get a reading on the small Eddykk. Owen had already given up, warmed up his fish and chips and was sat on the sofa eating them.

"Ianto, let's eat then look again." I tried to suggest it calmly, really I did but the glare I got in response would have killed me on the spot if I'd been capable of dying.

"We have to find him. He could hurt himself!"

"He can look after himself. I promise I'll help look for him after lunch." My outstretched arm was batted away; he was in no mood to be cajoled. "Please, Ianto?"

"Put some food out for him," put in Owen. "Little beast's always hungry."

"That's true. Worth a try, huh?"

The boy reluctantly agreed and went off to the kitchen. I followed him with the fish and chips and put both packages into the microwave and warmed them up before adding tomato ketchup to mine. I'm not sure what happened but I got rather more than I'd bargained for, about half the bottle. Ianto tutted and left me to sort it, too concerned about Eddy to say anything. Back in the work area, Ianto ate his lunch while scanning every nook and cranny hoping to see a ball of green fur appear and make for the bowl placed strategically on the floor. Owen and I ate as I updated him on our morning's activities. We'd finished eating, even Ianto who is much slower than Owen and me, when the Rift alert sounded.

"Opening in Grangetown," reported Owen who had got to Toshiko's desk before me. "Near that big IKEA."

I was standing looking over his shoulder. "Better go check it out. Owen, you're with me. Ianto, keep an eye on things here."

"Okay," answered Ianto but he was distracted, still looking for Eddy who had not been tempted by the food.

With my Webley in its holster at my waist and my greatcoat over my arm, I headed out after Owen. On the way to the garage, I put on the coat grateful to have its familiar weight and feel again after the jacket. We headed out along James Street and got caught up in the traffic. It was early afternoon on a Saturday and we were headed for one of the busiest shops in the city on a pouring wet day. Even the tourists had given up on the attractions and opted for some retail therapy. Crawling along Avondale Road, with Owen in the back using the computers and quiet for once, I was drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, staring through the mesmerising wipers, when I felt something stir in my lap. And it wasn't what I normally felt stir down there.

"I don't believe it!" I exclaimed.

"What?" came from behind me.

"Here, take him." I held Eddy over my shoulder.

Owen laughed, taking the Eddykk. "How d'you get here, eh?" he asked it. Opening the comms, he raised the Hub. "Ianto, we've found the furball."

"_What? Where?"_ came immediately.

"In the SUV."

"_That's impossible." _

"I think he was in my coat pocket," I interjected, having worked it out. "He just crawled out."

"_Is he all right?"_ Ianto sounded relieved and concerned at the same time.

"Yep," said Owen, "all present and correct." He was pleased to see the creature safe and well, I could tell by the laughter in his voice. "Don't worry, we'll look after him."

"Any changes, Ianto?" I asked. Chatting about Eddy was all very fine but we had a job to do. I could see the bulk of the IKEA shop, all blue and yellow, in front of me surrounded by seemingly acres of cars.

"_No. And no reports of any kind from that area. Perhaps nothing came through?" _

"Doubt that somehow," added Owen. "We don't get that lucky."

"We'll check it out. Keep us informed of any changes," I told them finally driving into the car park. The place was packed, row upon row of cars lined up side by side in the heavy rain. New arrivals were driving very slowly, searching for spaces and holding up the rest of us. "Where should I be going?"

"Straight ahead. Round the back of the building, by the looks of it." Owen was tapping at the keyboard and when I glanced in the rearview mirror I saw he had Eddy clinging onto his shoulder like some parrot substitute.

I continued to edge forward and took the turning into the delivery area at the rear. There were huge lorries lined up ready to disgorge their contents with smaller vans sandwiched between them. Forklift trucks were darting around unloading the pallets of goods at one end and at the other loading up purchased furniture and large goods that were ready for delivery. To one side was an empty space and I pulled into this gratefully and turned off the engine; we had to go on foot from here. Owen and I checked the position of the Rift opening, him on a PDA and me on my vortex manipulator. It was to our left, about fifty metres behind stacked empty pallets and parked vans.

"Come on. Leave Eddy in the SUV, he'll be okay."

Outside the SUV the rain was coming down in great vertical sheets and we were drenched in minutes. There was no way of avoiding it so we both did up our coats, hunched our shoulders and got on with the job. It reminded me of the water planet, Tegg IV, where it rains ninety nine percent of the time. Maybe Wales should be twinned with it. Weaving our way towards the spot where the Rift opening had occurred, we managed to avoid the warehousemen unloading the lorries and the odd driver wandering about. We were helped by the weather, no one wanted to be out in this. Everywhere was wet, with great puddles on the uneven ground. Nearing the target, Owen jogged over to my right to walk parallel with me a couple of metres away on the other side of some parked vehicles. We were nearing the metal fence, beyond which was a railway embankment, when we found the alien item.

"What's that?" Owen asked, standing looking down on the red ovoid lying on its side in a puddle. It was roughly a metre in height and half that round.

"Don't know." Scanning it was unproductive. It was encased in some substance that blocked the scans which was odd in itself; the manipulator's scanner had been developed to see through anything invented up the 51st century and beyond. "You getting anything?"

"Nope." He crouched down holding the PDA closer to the ovoid. "What do you want to do?"

I thought about this. Moving unknown objects is not sensible and I normally avoided it but this was close to a building containing thousands of people and a busy rail line, leaving it here could be just as dangerous. I tried scanning again, concentrating on the outer surface but still got nothing. "Got a probe on you?" I asked. Owen usually carried a small medical kit with him.

He stood and reached in a pocket, pulling out a leather case and unzipping it. "This do?" He held out a thin probe with a pointed end.

"Stand back," I warned and crouched down, aware of my coat lying on the soaked ground but it was already so wet from the rain it couldn't get much worse. Gingerly I brought the probe against the object. Nothing happened. I pressed a bit harder and still there was no response. Waving Owen further back behind a van, I placed my hand on the object; still nothing. "Seems to be inert. You go on ahead, I'll follow with this."

"I could bring a containment box," he offered, taking the probe I was holding out to him.

"No. Just have it ready at the car."

I waited until he had jogged off a few paces and then very carefully, picked up the object in both hands. It was heavy, surprisingly so, and cold to the touch. But that could have been my hands which were wet from the rain. Holding it before me, I walked back to where we had left the SUV making sure I walked slowly and smoothly; I was taking no chances with this thing. Nearing the vehicle I saw Owen at the boot ready to open it.

"Didn't want to get the inside soaked," he explained as I drew close. When I was next to him, he opened the hatchback and reached in for the containment box. "Out the way, furball," he told Eddy who was scampering about, exploring the equipment boxes and other items we always keep in the vehicle. "Hah, will you look at that? Doing what I told him."

I glanced at Eddy who was now standing on one of the equipment boxes. It was true, the little creature was standing stock still and … quivering. His eyes were wide open, staring, and his ears were laid back against his head. His mouth was a thin line. An image of another occasion with another Eddykk on another planet flashed before me. Eddy was not obeying Owen, he was terrified. As I watched he let out a high-pitched screech and started shaking violently.

Something was very wrong. And the something was in my hands.

Even as I thought this, the object started to feel warm and change colour. I slammed it into the containment box and closed the lid watching Eddy closely. He didn't change his stance, just stood petrified with fright. I had to get rid of the object. I picked up Eddy and thrust him at Owen, slamming the door. "Stay here!"

"What!? What's going on? Jack?" He looked totally confused, standing in the rain with Eddy shivering in his arms.

I didn't have time to explain. I had to get away from here before the object exploded.


	74. Chapter 74

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Four

I was in the SUV's driver's seat and gunning the engine. Reversing quickly, making Owen jump out of the way, I drove out of the delivery area as fast as I could. In the rearview mirror I saw Owen standing open mouthed in the rain with Eddy in his hands. I leant on the horn and forced my way through the queue of cars still pouring into and out of the car park. I clipped a few of them as I barrelled forward, refusing to be stopped. I couldn't have cared less about the damage I caused or the bad language and rude gestures coming my way, I had to get clear of this place before the alien object in the boot exploded. I slammed on the brakes as a woman appeared and ran across in front of me; it was my turn to gesticulate.

Opening the comms I raised Ianto. "I need a clear road to Prospect Place, NOW," I shouted. "Can you change all the lights down Ferry Road?"

"_Umm, okay. Ah."_ This is when I needed Toshiko, or Suzie, they'd have had it done by now. _"I'll try."_

By dint of reckless driving and ignoring rights of way, I got to the car park exit and careered across the flowerbeds in the centre of the roundabout, bouncing violently. I just hoped the bomb in the boot wouldn't be set off prematurely. I should have time to get clear IF I could get through the traffic. I forced my way into the stream of vehicles heading south. Leaning on the horn some more combined with the flashing lights got some drivers out of my way but others just stopped and blocked the road. Swerving round an almost stationary car I was half on and half off the verge when I hit another roundabout and sailed over the middle of it to continue my headlong drive. Ahead of me was more traffic, all snarled up but enough of it moved aside in reaction to my approach. Traffic lights at the head of the queue were red but changed to green as I got closer. I don't know if that was luck or Ianto had got the hang of the program. It was unrealistic of me to expect him to be able to use it but right then he was all I had.

"_I've changed the lights, sir, and alerted the police,"_ said Ianto over the comms. _"What's going on?"_

"The Rift sent us another bomb. Damn!" I stood on the brakes and swung the wheel to the right to avoid a white van trying to get in front of me. Metal screeched as the side of the van scraped along the left-hand side of the SUV. We travelled like that for a few metres until the other driver – a spotty youth with greasy hair – dropped back, thinking better of tangling with me.

"_Are you all right?" _

"Yeah. I'm heading into the sports village. Tell the police to keep clear and that there'll be an explosion."

"_Yes, sir. Be careful." _

I was doing sixty in a twenty mile an hour limit down a road that led nowhere with a bomb about to explode and could barely see for the rain; my wipers couldn't keep up with the downpour. The only good thing about my situation was that I'd left the traffic behind me. Flooring the brakes I swung round the last turn and saw Cardiff Bay stretch out to my left and front. By sheer good fortune, this was one of the least frequented parts of the Bay. The sailing and motor boats were moored round in the Ely Marina and ferry and tour boats didn't come close to this shore. Housing was at a good distance too, the area being reserved for the sports facilities that were slow in coming, a victim of conflicting Council priorities and a lack of cash.

The SUV came to a juddering halt and I jumped out and ran to the back, yanking the boot open. I grabbed the containment box, built for biohazards not explosives of this magnitude, and opened it carefully whilst not wasting time. The object was pulsing with a mauve glow and was the most dangerous thing I'd seen in a very long time. I picked it up and ran to the water and threw it with all my might out into the Bay. It hit hard, around twelve metres from the bank in a large splash seconds before a thunderous boom which shook the ground and forced tons of water into the air in a huge spout that must have gone up fifty metres. I was knocked to the ground by the force of the blast and rolled backwards, over and over until I ended up in a ditch where the edge of the deluge of water returning to earth caught me.

"_Sir? Sir, are you all right? Jack!"_ Ianto's anxious voice in my ear greeted me as I regained consciousness. I'd been knocked out not killed and lay on my front, groggily trying to gather my wits. _"Owen, can you get down there?"_

"It's okay. I'm okay," I managed, levering myself up to my knees. "Any damage?"

"_Jack,"_ this was Owen_, "you need me?"_

"No. I'm just shaken up a bit. I'll come and pick you up."

With another effort I made it to my feet and staggered back to the SUV. The armour plating and specially strengthened glass had ensured it survived the blast but it had been moved a metre or so to the left and was almost off the road. I leant against it, catching my breath and surveying the scene. Nothing appeared damaged by the blast and the water spout but it was hard to tell for sure.

"_There are lots of 999 calls about the explosion,"_ reported Ianto. _"Our warning got to the police just in time. A few windows were blown out. And a couple of boats were damaged and one guy was thrown overboard but he's safe now." _

"Good." I pushed myself off the car and squelched my way to the driver's door. The rain was still coming down in torrents and I was soaked through and shivering from the cold. "Owen, can you get to the entrance? Don't want to have to fight my way through the car park again."

"_I'll be at the roundabout,"_ he confirmed. _"Probably best anyway, you've made no friends here. Lots of angry drivers out for your blood." _

"Better to be angry than dead. I'll be about ten minutes."

As I turned the SUV I saw people crowded round the entrance of the nearby ice rink looking my way. They must have heard and felt the blast too and come to investigate. It was a timely reminder and as I drove back to IKEA, slow and sedate this time, I talked to Owen and Ianto about the cover story we could use. We decided a minor and localised earthquake would suffice and Ianto got busy spreading the word. With IKEA on my left, I spotted Owen's bedraggled figure on the far side of the roundabout outside the entrance to the big store and pulled up alongside, stopping just long enough for him to jump into the passenger seat.

"Well, that was fun," he said ironically. "Being left to stand in the rain and get pneumonia is just how I wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon." He partly unzipped the front of his jacket and Eddy poked his head out.

"You'd rather be blown up?" I was heading back down Avondale Road, inching forward as the vehicles in front made it onto the next roundabout.

"Be warmer." He was absently stroking Eddy's head, the Eddykk having decided to stay inside the jacket. "How'd you work out it was a bomb?"

"Eddy. They're sensitive to danger. Didn't you see him? He was petrified when we brought it on board." The traffic eased in front of me and I was able to get onto the bridge over the Taff and head for Mermaid Quay.

"Maybe we should bring him with us all the time, like a canary down the mines."

"_No you're not,"_ came over the comms which we'd left open. _"He's had quite enough adventures."_ Ianto's scandalised words lightened the atmosphere and Owen and I burst out laughing which alarmed Eddy who disappeared inside the jacket.

I was never so pleased to get back to the Hub as I was that afternoon. It was close on four when Owen and I squelched our way to the showers, stripped and stood under the hot water. Separately of course, no sharing showers for Owen and me. I wouldn't have minded, the doctor was in good shape, but he was not interested. It was me, I think, not men in general. Probably didn't want to get entangled with the boss. When I emerged a quarter of an hour later, pink with warmth, Ianto was there with dry clothes for both of us. Back in the work area, he made us some coffee and we sat drinking it while Eddy got his delayed lunch. Ianto made a lot of fuss of the little creature, petting him and praising him to the skies for detecting the bomb, much to Owen's annoyance.

At that point Owen started yawning and decided he needed a nap. He had been up nearly thirty six hours so I wasn't surprised when he lay down on the sofa for forty winks. Ianto had slept for an hour or so after our shag so he was less tired and professed himself happy to carry on. He and I repaired to the office, taking Eddy with us, and left Owen in peace; he was snoring before the office door was shut. Ianto and I went through the report on Lampeter; he'd made a number of additions to Toshiko's draft which we discussed, incorporating them into a final document. With that complete, I decided to call Alan Mace and tell him the latest; he had access to more resources to track the private plane that had left Waterford with the Cyberman. Ianto went to his desk. He had plenty to keep him occupied: write up our morning's Retcon exercise and add it to the file on the Gethrill; monitor the police and other channels for news of the blast in the Bay; and all the other numerous tasks that fill his day. He took Eddy with him, carrying him in one of his suit jacket pockets.

Mace answered my call to his mobile on the third ring_. "Mace."_

"Hi Alan, Jack Harkness. Free for a chat?" I could hear music in the background, something soothing and classical.

"_I'm at home but I'm not busy. What's up?" _

"We found the Cyberman. It was hidden in the premises of one of Henry Parker's minor companies. Unfortunately, it got away again before we could nab it." I went on to tell him all that happened, going into some detail of the trail I'd followed to Waterford. "So, the Cyberman was on that plane but I don't know where it ended up. I'm guessing it went to mainland Europe. I'm sorry we lost it again, we were so close."

"_You did well to find it in the first place. I'm grateful your people are all right."_ He's a gracious man, polite even when we'd loused up. _"Give me the plane's call sign again and I'll get my aide to get the boffins onto it." _

"G983E. That's gulf nine eight three echo," I repeated for clarity. "You may want to check around Geneva first but don't forget it may have had to refuel en-route. The pilot was a Philip Michael Brown."

"_Got that. I'll let you know what we find." _We spoke for another five minutes during which I promised to email him the report and all I had on the plane then I hung up.

The next hour was spent at my desk, sending off that email and dealing with the rest that had arrived in the past few hours. I was able to forward a few to the others to deal with but that still left a lot to handle myself. I was working through them steadily when I saw Owen sit up and stretch, check the Rift monitor and then head in my direction.

"Was thinking of starting the autopsy on the zombie. I know the containment field's a bugger to get up and down but there's nothing predicted for the next couple of hours and that's all I should need."

"All right." It had to be done some time and there was no guarantee tomorrow would be any better. "Sure you're not too tired?" He looked okay but he needed to be alert if he was to avoid errors.

"Nah, I'm okay. That nap was all I needed. I'll get on with it then." He turned to go.

"What about the report?"

"Just about done. I'll add the autopsy results then give you the lot." He strode off and disappeared into the medical bay, drawing across the plastic curtain that warned the rest of us not to enter without checking first.

I went back to my emails and was surprised when my mobile announced an incoming text. It was from Alice. I'd not seen her and Steven for a while, a couple of months at least, but we kept in touch by weekly emails. Texting was uncommon enough to make me open and read it immediately.

'_Like to see you. Free tomorrow am? Alice_.'

I thought about it and texted back: 'Fine by me. 10ish? Everything okay?' I had to be out of the Hub tomorrow anyway as I needed to get to Suzie's flat for a final sweep before Brendan Griffiths cleared it on Monday. I could incorporate a trip to see Alice without the team being any the wiser.

'_All fine. Just want a word. See you then,'_ came back a few minutes later.

Sitting back in my chair, I stared at nothing and thought about what she might want. If there was a serious problem she'd probably have rung me so I decided that she and Steven were not ill. Perhaps she had met someone and wanted my views. No, I dismissed that idea almost as soon as I'd had it; she'd not consulted me when she'd met her ex-husband, Joe. But Lucia had been alive then, beautiful Lucia who had died of heart trouble barely a year ago. Perhaps Alice did want to talk over the options with me. The possibility of being asked to vet and maybe meet a potential son-in-law made me smile; if he was a looker I'd probably want to bed him myself.

"What's so amusing?" Ianto was in front of the desk putting a pile of files into my in-tray and a mug of coffee beside it. "Can't be the paperwork."

I looked up at him and smiled some more. "Just thinking. If it stays quiet tonight, want to go out for a meal?"

"Not really. I'll probably get an early night." Of course, he'd had very little sleep last night.

"Can I join you?" I made to reach for him but he took a pace backwards.

"If you like; we could watch a DVD. But I have work to do now, sir." He put a lot of emphasis on the last word, reminding me were still working. "I'm going down to the archives for a couple of hours. I'll take Eddy with me."

"Okay." I watched him go and realised that with him in my life and my bed, I didn't need or want anyone else. Sipping the coffee, I went back to the emails.

The Rift was quiet for the next few hours but a Weevil was seen hanging round the bus station. Owen was still cut off in the medical bay so I went out alone, having to wear the jacket as my greatcoat was too wet. I found the Weevil in an underpass and quickly subdued and sedated it, hefting it back to the SUV. Being close to the city centre, I walked to the shops and bought Steven a book about trains, his favourite subject, and an expensive box of chocolates for Alice. Back at the Hub, I left the gifts in the SUV and took the Weevil in with me. With that secured, I checked on Owen who was sitting at his desk.

"How did it go?"

"Didn't find anything new." He tapped at his keyboard, balancing it on his knee as he leant back in the chair at a dangerous angle. "I'll let you have the findings in a bit."

"It can wait 'til tomorrow if you want to get off." The afternoon had flown by and it was gone seven.

"It's okay. Tosh is on her way back. I said I'd wait for her." He did not look up so I felt free to smirk. I guess my silence was telling in itself because he sighed heavily and stopped working. "Don't read anything into that."

"Into what?" I wanted to have some fun but it seemed Owen was not in the mood.

"Just don't, Jack. Go and bother the teaboy." He went back to the keyboard, ignoring me.

His mention of Ianto made me look round the Hub. There was no sign of the boy so I want looking for him and found him in the registry working on some files. Eddy was lying on his back nearby. "Time for bed." I grasped Ianto by the shoulders and swivelled the chair round to face me. "Come on."

With Eddy in his carry case we all went to Ianto's room, spending some time selecting a DVD to watch. Leaving Ianto to undress and get into bed, I went back upstairs for some beer. I stopped in the archway, transfixed.

In the work area, Owen was kissing Toshiko.

* * *

_Oh my, finally!! And thanks so much to all of you for bringing me to the brink of 700 reviews, I really can't believe it. - Jay_


	75. Chapter 75

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Five

I stood transfixed watching the pair before me. Owen had his arms round Toshiko, who was relaxed and compliant, their mouths locked together. A few seconds later, they pulled apart slightly before Owen's lips made contact with the side of her neck causing her to arch her back and groan softly. He worked down her neck in tiny kisses, her fingers threaded through his hair and pulling his head down to her breasts. Then they were apart again, gazing into one another's eyes before their mouths met once more. There was a lot of tongue action this time and Owen's hands were on her arse and breasts. Finally they parted and spoke softly, too quietly for me to hear, while still holding hands. Then he took her coat from the chair and helped her put it on before grabbing his own.

"Jack, we're going home." I started, surprised at being addressed directly; I was still stood in the archway and had assumed they'd not seen me. "Now you've had your eyeful," continued Owen, putting a hand to Toshiko's back and steering her down the steps whilst glaring at me.

Walking forward I cleared my throat and grinned at them. "Enjoyed the ringside seat. Have a good evening."

"We will. And don't call unless the world's ending." He raised a hand in farewell.

"Good night," called Toshiko, smiling while blushing prettily.

The pair of them exited by the garage door leaving me to look after them, a grin still plastered on my face. They were together at last. I couldn't wait to tell Ianto and hurried to get the beer, picking up a large bag of salt and vinegar crisps at the same time, and hared back downstairs. Ianto, an old baggy sweater covering his body, was sitting up in bed writing in his diary while Eddy climbed up and over his duvet-covered legs.

"You took your time," he said, firmly shutting the diary and putting it away in the drawer under the bed. After our earlier falling-out over it, I had been studiously ignoring the diary despite the temptation to see what he thought worthy of recording. Who am I kidding, I just wanted to find what he was writing about me.

"That's because I've just seen Tosh and Owen … kissing!" I waiting for his reaction but he just continued to gaze at me steadily. "Did you hear what I said? They were snogging!"

"And you watched?" I should have known this would be his response. "Why couldn't you give them some privacy?" He tutted at me and reached across to snag Eddy who was climbing up the wall.

"They were in the work area," I protested, "and they knew I was there. They have to be shagging," I went on, determined not to be made to feel guilty.

"Which is none of your business." He sounded stern but then smiled broadly. "I'm glad for Tosh, though I can't think what she sees in Owen."

I put the beer on the side table with the crisps, a silly grin on my face. "Call up the CCTV so we can watch it again."

I thought he was going to protest but instead he reached for the keyboard while I stripped off and slipped into bed beside him. There was a ton of work on my desk but I felt I'd earned a respite from it. I'd stay here and enjoy some time with Ianto. I didn't even necessarily want a shag, though I wouldn't say no, it was enough to have him close. Leaning back against the headboard, my arm comfortably round Ianto's shoulders, we watched THE KISS. It was even better from this angle, and I could zoom in.

"That's enough," said Ianto, taking the keyboard and stopping me replaying it for the third time. "Put Eddy in his carry case then pass me the beer."

I was out of bed before I realised and turned to glare at him. "What did your last servant die of?!"

"A surfeit of sex." He smiled and held out Eddy who was wriggling to be free. "Tell me again what happened this afternoon. How did Eddy show you it was a bomb?"

With my 'chores' done and once more comfortably back in the bed, I told him. "When we put the bomb in the boot he went still, rigid almost, and let out a shriek. Little thing was terrified."

"Good job you noticed. Just think of the mess if IKEA had blown up." He shuddered. "And I'd have been on clean up."

I chuckled at this and bumped him with my shoulder as we sat side by side, his head occasionally resting on my shoulder, as we sipped our beer and dived into the crisps. "I'd have helped."

"When you revived! You'd have been killed too." He shook his head and huffed and puffed a bit. "Did you die when the bomb finally went off?"

"No, got knocked out for a bit, I think, that's all." I took more crisps and stuffed them in my mouth.

"I felt the blast here in the Hub, against the outer wall." He had moved away, turning sideways and leaning against the wall, so he could look into my face, sitting cross-legged. We were still touching but I now had a good view of his handsome, and currently concerned, face. "You really didn't die?"

"No! Cross my heart." He still looked skeptical but didn't pursue it, delicately nibbling a large crisp. "We got lucky," I went on more seriously; Owen and a lot of other people could have been dead this night.

"Long may our luck continue." He drank some beer. "And good for Eddy."

"I'll drink to that." I took a swig of beer. "On some planets Eddykks are used at spaceports, like those dogs that search for drugs, only theirs is a natural reaction."

"Way you talk about it, anyone would think you'd been to these planets." His expression turned suspicious, eyes narrowing. "You haven't, have you?"

That was a tricky one to answer. I couldn't tell him the truth but at the same time I didn't like to lie. Besides, he was beginning to see through my lies. "Wouldn't that be fun? Hopping from planet to planet in my spaceship meeting lots of mysterious aliens." I laughed, hoping he wouldn't press me.

"I can just see you." He laughed. "Sweeping into a bar, coat billowing out behind, oozing confidence before drinking something exotic and chatting up some unsuspecting alien. Han Solo in a coat." He didn't know how close to the truth he was.

"Sounds about right." I took a sip of beer and reached for the remote. "Movie time."

"No, don't. I'll only fall asleep halfway through." He took the remote from my hands and put it out of the way, yawning. "Let's just enjoy some quiet time."

"Fine by me."

He yawned again. "This is ridiculous! It's not even nine."

"Hey, I don't mind. You go to sleep when you like. It's been a long couple of days and you're still getting over being beaten up." Some of the bruises on his body were visible at the V-neck of his sweater and where he had pushed up the sleeves. They were purple and yellow and must hurt.

"I'm okay, and I got some sleep." He took a handful of crisps. "You haven't, you've not had any rest at all." His tone was accusing and he frowned at me. Those little lines between his eyebrows were cute and I reached a finger and smoothed them away.

Deciding to change the subject, I asked, "Did you contact Rhiannon? Are you going to meet her?"

He sighed and the frown reappeared so I smoothed the skin again. "Stop that." He pushed my hand away. "I said I'd meet her next week sometime." He paused, sipping his beer and thinking. "She'll want to know everything." He looked and sounded so despondent I laughed.

"So tell her. She'll be impressed when she knows you're dating the boss." I grinned at him but he kept his head averted, focussing on the beer bottle that he was twisting round and round in his hands.

"Is that what I'm doing?" he asked quietly. "Are we dating?" He sounded very unsure.

"I suppose. Not many dates, I know, but only because we're so busy." He turned his face up and I was taken aback by the sheer happiness in his expression. He stretched across and kissed me hard but briefly. "Don't get carried away," I cautioned as he pulled back.

We were silent for a while, finishing the crisps. A small smile played on his lips and he looked happy. I wasn't sure I should have said as much as I had but he's important to me, and getting more so every day, and there was little point in denying it. I couldn't tell him just how strongly I felt for him, the time for that was after The Doctor had cured me. Then we could have a shot at a normal relationship, or at least as normal as working for Torchwood allowed. If we stayed with Torchwood … I realised I didn't have to once The Doctor had appeared and sorted me out. I was imagining a life of a normal length spent with Ianto at my side when he poked his finger into my upper arm. "Ow! What was that for?" I rubbed the abused arm.

"I asked you a question. What were you thinking about anyway? You looked all soppy."

"Nothing. What do you want to know?" I drank the last of the beer and put the bottle on the side table. "Want me to meet Rhiannon and the charming Johnny?" I pulled a face to show I was not being too serious.

"No, that wasn't it. It's too early to meet them. What I asked was if the bomb today was the same as the one out at Pengam. The one that exploded and hurt Tosh." He held out his beer bottle. "Put this on the side."

"I really am your slave, aren't I?" I replied, doing his bidding.

"And don't you forget it." The laughter in his voice was entirely spontaneous and a joy to hear. "Now, answer my question, slave, while I clear this up." With deft movements, he started to sweep the crisp crumbs from the duvet and into his hand. "I hate crumbs in my bed."

"Yes, master. And as for the bomb, no I don't think it was the same. I'll go through the scans later, see if I can find out exactly what it was. The shielding was unlike anything I've come across before."

He had transferred the crumbs into the empty packet and leant over me to put it on the side table. I seized the opportunity and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him back beside me. He fitted under my arm and rested his head on my shoulder with a little contented sigh. Or it might have been a yawn.

"I wish you wouldn't work so hard," he murmured, snuggling closer. "Just promise me you'll get some rest tonight."

"I promise. But there's work to be done and someone has to do it."

"Doesn't always have to be you."

"No one else available right now, not with Tosh and Owen … otherwise engaged! It'll get better when I find someone to replace Suzie. Now, close your eyes, sleepyhead."

His response was a light thump to my chest. After that, we talked quietly about nothing much for ten minutes or so, his voice becoming quieter with longer spaces between the words. Very soon he was asleep but I stayed where I was, holding him close. I lay there for about an hour listening to his steady breathing before very gently easing him out of my arms and slipping from the bed. With a small exhalation of breath, he turned onto his side and curled up clutching the pillow I'd been leaning against, lips in a cute smile. It took a lot of will-power to leave him when he looked that gorgeous.

I bundled up my clothes and took them with me to the work area; there was no one around and it was good to feel the air on my skin. And it'll give Tosh a thrill in the morning when she checks the CCTV, make her realise what she's missing. The Rift predictor was clear and there was nothing else going on in the city requiring my attention. It was gone ten on a Saturday evening and I suddenly didn't want to tackle the paperwork and other tasks waiting on my desk. As my greatcoat was still drying out from its earlier soaking, I put on the leather jacket and headed out and up. The salty tang of the sea hit me as I emerged on the lift and stood, invisible to the people walking across the Plass. Some were sitting outside the various restaurants and bars and on the steps, huddled into coats against the brisk wind. The earlier rain had freshened the air making it a joy to be out and I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with the fresh air. But I wanted to be higher so walked round to the stage door of the Millennium Centre where my pal Geoff, cultivated for just such occasions, let me in.

The copper roof of the Centre is not the highest in the city but it's one of the few without any form of balustrade. That and its sloping curve make it preferable to the others in the area, for me anyway, and it was the one I visited most often. I stood, leaning into the wind with my hands in my pockets, and looked out over Mermaid Quay, the Bay and back to the city centre. Lots of lights twinkled, showing where people were enjoying a Saturday evening either at home or in restaurants, bars and the like. It was an oddly reassuring sight. Torchwood had protected this city for over a hundred years and on nights like this it felt good to be continuing the tradition. Half an hour later, I climbed back down and returned to the Hub, refreshed and ready to get on with the job.

Two hours later, I'd worked through some of the accumulated folders and had a sizeable pile in the out-tray and a neat list of items I needed to follow up. Owen's report on the zombie was interesting and I lingered over that one before initialling it. That went onto the small pile for circulation to the others so they could see what he had found. Needing a break, I made a cup of tea and found a stale doughnut to eat before turning to the alerts. Yet another disappearance in the Beacons caught my eye. Helen Gaukroger, 34, a PR executive with BT, had been travelling to a meeting but had never arrived. Her car was found abandoned by the side of the road with no indication of where she had gone. This was the seventh disappearance in a couple of weeks and journalists were speculating about the cause, with the tabloids opting for a serial killer. I was not convinced. Serial killers' victims were usually of the same type – sex, age, hair colour etc – whilst these victims were all very different. My money was still on an alien involvement but, contrary to popular opinion, aliens did not usually abduct people. So what had happened? Where were the bodies? If people continued to disappear we were going to have to go and take a look.

The rest of the night passed quickly. I examined the scans of the bomb and made a little headway but not much. The outer shell was made up of a combination of polymers and base metals with an added element that I couldn't identify. This was what had blocked my scans. The interior had been packed with explosives which didn't match anything in the database. I wondered if there had been a battle somewhere, one side using Pronskite warheads the other this new weapon, and stray ordnance had fallen through the Rift. I sent a quick email to the team alerting them to the possibility of more; we had to be extra vigilant over the coming days.

Next I checked on the police investigation of the two murders Suzie had committed and found it stalled. The detectives had nothing new and I expected it would be wound down soon, left as unsolved. The policewoman who had challenged me so vociferously, Gwen Cooper, had been reassigned and was back on normal duties. It appeared she and her partner, one Andy Davidson, were rounding up drunks and arresting drug users. I read again all the information I had on Gwen and remembered the way she had stood up for the victims, criticising Torchwood for not helping. She had been right. Losing Suzie had pushed my thoughts of changing the way we worked to the back of my mind; it was time to consider it again. Why shouldn't we help Cardiff's citizens?

At five, Ianto appeared all tousled but rested. He was wearing pyjama bottoms and the baggy sweater. "Want to come back to bed for a while?" he asked, leaning against the office doorframe.

"Depends. What do you have in mind?" I put aside all thoughts of annoying policewomen and work and grinned at him.

"Thought we could explore the slave/master dynamic. Seemed to interest you last night."

"Umm, like that idea." I stood and rounded the desk to stand in front of him. "But only if we use the hockey stick again."

"All right. Come on then." He led the way back to his room, explaining all he was going to do to me while I was his slave.

It was even better than he led me to expect.


	76. Chapter 76

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Six

Weevils like the early mornings. Three had decided to leave the sewers and had been seen round the bins at the side of the Lidl store on East Tyndall Street which was the reason why I was headed out that way at six forty on Sunday morning. And I wasn't alone. Ianto was sitting alongside me in the SUV having insisted on coming along when I'd decided not to call in Owen and Toshiko. He was checking and re-checking the Glock in his hands.

"I'll take the lead," I told him again. "You hang back until we know what we're up against."

"All right." His tone was curt, probably because I was repeating myself and he was apprehensive. "I don't understand why you won't call in the others. Why shouldn't they get up early?"

"Because I can manage a couple of Weevils!" I actually wanted to suss it out first, no point us all having an early start if I could scare them back into the sewers.

"Three. There are three. And you're not Superman!"

I glanced sideways at him, taking in his angry frown. "Even after what we've just been up to?" We'd spent a very pleasurable hour as slave and master before enjoying a more relaxed encounter during a shared shower. "Thought my stamina was pretty superhuman then."

"Humph! It's up here on the left."

I turned into the supermarket's car park. The place was deserted, the first workers not due in for another couple of hours. I drove round to the side and stopped by the bins. "Stay here until I give the word."

I strode forward, all my senses alert. The four large wheeled bins were full of waste and I had to walk a few metres before I got my first glimpse of the Weevils, stopping abruptly. They were gathered together, sitting on the ground. A large male was holding two smaller females in a parody of a group hug. Something was wrong with them, I could tell that even from a distance. The male looked across at me and moaned, his distress evident. Backing away I bumped into Ianto who, of course, had not followed orders.

"Get back!" I ordered, roughly turning him round and marching him to the SUV. "They're sick. Get back to the Hub and pick up the biohazard gear. I'll get Owen to meet you there and confirm exactly what to bring. Go!" I threw the keys at him whilst reaching for my mobile. I called Owen, watching as Ianto swung the vehicle round and headed out. I didn't want him anywhere near sick Weevils, whatever they had could be airborne.

"_What'ya got?"_ Owen, of course, grumpy despite his uninterrupted and, I presumed, enjoyable and satisfying night.

"Sick Weevils. Three of them. I need you to meet Ianto at the base and load up the biohazard gear we'll need to approach and contain them. Tell Tosh to stay at the Hub and start checking hospitals." Surprisingly, he didn't protest my assumption that the two of them were together.

"_We're on our way. I'll call from the car for more details."_ He cut the connection.

I returned the mobile to my pocket and went back for another look at the Weevils. They hadn't moved and I stayed well back; whatever they had wouldn't affect me but I wasn't about to get close and carry infection to other people. Five minutes later, Owen called back and I described the Weevils' appearance – mucus around the mouth and nose and cranial swelling – and general air of pain and defeat. Then I retreated once more, settling on a bench in front of the store to wait for the team's arrival.

Owen and Ianto looked like something out of a bad B-movie in the cumbersome white suits, especially when they put on the large helmets. I led Owen round to the Weevils, keeping back when he went forward to check them out although staying close enough to react if they took fright and attacked him. They were still huddled together but more listless than ever.

"This one's dead," reported Owen over the comms, pointing to one of the smaller females. "The other two are little better. I'll give them some antibiotics and a pain-killer, may help."

I watched as he took samples for examination, stepping to one side when Ianto came forward pulling two coffin-like boxes behind him. He helped Owen load the dead Weevil inside one and sealed it then towed it back to the white van they'd arrived in. I helped him load it and then waited while he took the final box back to Owen.

"The male died. Don't think the other one will make it either." Owen sounded frustrated, hating to lose a patient even when it was Weevils. "Let's check you out."

"I didn't go near them once I saw the state they were in," I said, nevertheless standing and letting him check me over. Ianto gave me a funny look, as if to say 'Tell him you can't die', but I said nothing. The fact he knew my secret was one person too many.

"Looks okay but better be safe. Stick this on until we're sure." He handed me a third suit and I struggled into it, giving Ianto my greatcoat to be sealed in a bag.

After hosing down the area round the bins with an all-purpose disinfectant, we squeezed into the cab of the van. Ianto drove. He and Owen removed their helmets but I had to keep mine on as my suit was protecting them from me; I swear I saw Ianto smirk at my discomfort. It was still early and the traffic light and we were parked and unloading the van before eight. The third Weevil had died in transit and all three were put in stasis until Owen could examine them more thoroughly. He took me to the medical bay and spent half an hour poking and prodding me, taking blood and other samples, before pronouncing me healthy. I emerged to be greeted by the sight of Toshiko and Ianto sitting chatting with steaming mugs of coffee in their hands.

"Better be one of those for me," I grumbled, flopping down on the sofa. I hate medical tests and was not in a good mood.

"Here." Ianto held out the blue and white striped mug. "I made some toast."

"There've been no hospital admissions in the past twenty four hours that correspond to what Owen said the Weevils look like," said Toshiko seriously. "Seems to be contained."

"Let's hope so." With the coffee and thick, buttered toast I was feeling a lot better. "Keep an eye on it just the same. Owen, you'd better try and work out what it is." I reached for another slice of toast and bit into it.

"The tests came back on the samples I took," he said around his mouthful. "It's 'flu."

I stared at him. "You mean," I spluttered, "that you've been using me as a pincushion for nothing?!"

"Payback for spying on me and Tosh." He grinned wolfishly and sat back. "That'll teach you." Toshiko sniggered, hiding her face behind her hand, and Ianto openly grinned. Ungrateful lot.

"You'd better get on with the autopsies then. Full containment protocols, you might be wrong." That would show him; he'd be sealed in the medical bay for hours. "Tosh, the report on the Gethrill is your priority. I want something for UNIT by the end of the morning. Ianto, I need to speak to you. My office." With my coffee in one hand and another slice of toast in the other, I walked off ignoring Owen's complaints.

"That was a bit mean, sir," said Ianto, sitting in the visitor's chair.

"And making holes in me isn't?!"

Ianto looked over his shoulder, saw Owen had disappeared, and turned back to face me. "Why won't you tell them you can't die?" he asked seriously. "It makes no sense to keep it secret."

"Because." I stared him out until he sighed and looked away. "Two things I need to say to you. First, I didn't thank you properly for your help yesterday. You changing the traffic lights made all the difference. Well done." That took the wind out of his sails, he hadn't expected praise.

"Tosh made it easy, sir. The programs are all labelled up. I only had to find the right one, type in the street and click 'green'."

"But you did it, even when I was yelling in your ear. Kept your head, that's good. Second, and you may want to make a note of this, I have a job for you tomorrow. Suzie's flat is being cleared. I need you to let Brendan Griffiths and his son in first thing then take them to Store-It at Canton." I gave him the address, number of the storage unit to be used and its security code. "I trust Brendan but I'd like you to keep an eye on them. A pain, I know, but it has to be done."

"I don't mind. I'll give them a hand, might find the missing Retcon." He was busy scribbling in his notebook.

"Maybe. And third -"

"You said two things, sir."

"I'm adding this one after this morning. If you are going to insist on coming out on Weevil hunts, you need to be trained. Firearms and hand to hand." I held up a hand to stop him when it looked like he'd interrupt. "I'm not putting you on ops, we agreed that, but you need to know how to handle yourself. Especially after Friday."

"You're right," he sighed, "I couldn't defend myself."

"They concentrated on you because you're a man. There's still some chivalry left in the world." I leant forward, resting my arms on the desk. "Do it, please. For my peace of mind if not yours."

He agreed and we discussed it a little longer before he went back to his desk with the contents of my out-tray. It was just on nine by then and I had an appointment to see Alice in an hour. I still wondered what she wanted, this sort of summons was highly unusual, but I was looking forward to seeing Steven again, he was growing so fast. I picked up my greatcoat and went out into the work area to see Toshiko who was at her desk.

"I'm off out. Going to have a final look round Suzie's flat before it's cleared tomorrow. Call me if the Rift opens." I shrugged into my coat. "I'll take the Rav in case you need the SUV."

"Fine. There's nothing predicted at the moment, just the possibility of something this afternoon."

"Good. Just remember to call." I was off, down the steps and out to the garage. Remembering the gifts I bought the day before, I took these from the SUV and climbed into the Rav which was fast becoming our second vehicle. I noticed Toshiko's Polo was missing; she and Owen must have come in together in his Boxster. That gave me a good feeling. All my little nudges and helpful hints had edged them together and now they had sealed the deal, had to have done.

Parking in Corporation Road was bad but I found somewhere eventually. The flat had an air of neglect – and an unpleasant smell – after only a week of being unoccupied. I took it slowly and scanned the entire place. Nothing came to light and I left after an hour, travelling west into Leckwith. This is still a pretty area with plenty of open spaces although Alice's flat was not in the best part, too close to the main routes to the Sports Stadium and overrun with fans when Cardiff FC or the Blues are playing at home. But I had learnt not to criticise having had my head bitten off more than once in the past. She and Joe had chosen it and I suppose it held some sentimental attachment for her even two years after the divorce. I had as much problem parking here as always, and ended up on the grass verge a hundred metres up the road. Leaving my Webley locked in the glove compartment – something else I'd been told about before - and carrying the gifts I walked back and rang the door buzzer for flat two.

"_Yes?"_ came over the crackling connection. I just about recognised Alice's voice.

"It's Jack."

"_Come in."_ The release sounded and I pushed open the door, making sure it was secure behind me before walking past the stairs to the red door at the back of the block. It opened suddenly and Steven stood in the doorway. He was a well built seven year old and took after his fair and blue eyed father. At present he had on a T-shirt and jeans, just socks on his feet and was grinning.

"Uncle Jack!" he shouted and launched himself at me. I caught him and held him close. Even in a few months he had changed and I drank in the sight of him.

"Hey, soldier. What have you been up to?" I took a pace into the flat and saw Alice standing at the door of the kitchen looking in our direction. For a moment she reminded me of Lucia – she was the same height and colouring – but then she moved and the light caught her face and the illusion was gone. I shut the front door.

"Lots and lots. I joined the Cubs. I got a uniform and everything. Do you want to see?" Steven was wriggling to be set down so I obliged.

"Not now, Steven," protested Alice. "Help Uncle Jack off with his coat."

"Are those for me?" the boy asked when he spotted the bags I was carrying. "Have you brought me a present?" His grin was wider than ever and just for a moment I saw a tiny bit of me in him.

"Steven!" admonished Alice. He did not look chastened. "I'll make some coffee. Do you mind sitting in the kitchen?" she asked me. "I'm starting on lunch."

"That's fine."

With the coat hung up, Steven took my hand and tugged me into the kitchen chattering away. It was a small room but homely and the sunshine coming in the back windows made it welcoming. Alice was busying herself filling the kettle and putting coffee into a cafetiére which gave me a moment to take a good look at her. She was only a few inches shorter than me and shapely - she'd put back the weight she'd lost after the divorce - with dark, wavy hair cut short to frame her face. Her jeans and top were casual but she had inherited the Italian way of making ordinary clothes look stylish. At thirty two she had grown into her looks and was a striking woman.

"Sit down," she said, seeing I was still standing by the door. "Steven, move your comics out of the way."

"Here, this is for you," I told the boy, holding out the bag with the book in it. "And this one's for you." I passed the other to Alice and sat down.

"Oh wow! Look, Mum, a book all about trains. Isn't it fantastic?" His reaction told me I had picked well. He sat at the table opposite me, flicking through the pages.

"Steven, what do you say?" Alice's voice was stern.

"Sorry. Thanks ever so much, Uncle Jack." He jumped down and came round to stand by me, flinging his arms round my neck and kissing my cheek. "I really, really, really like it."

I laughed. "I got that."

"Thanks for these." She had taken out the chocolates and was admiring the box.

"What've you got?" asked Steven going up to take a look. "Chocolates, can I have one?"

"No, they're for me. Go and look at your book." She playfully turned him round and went back to the coffee.

"So, Steven," I began, "tell me about the Cubs. Got any badges yet?" My knowledge of Scouting is patchy at best but I remember seeing kids with badges sewn onto their sleeves.

"I got two. I got Communications and Chef." He went into some detail of what he had do to get these coveted awards which filled in the time until the coffee was ready. He then shot off to his bedroom to get his uniform top to show me the actual badges and Alice sat down in the chair he'd vacated, putting the drinks on the table. "Here they are," proclaimed Steven running back into the room with a bottle green sweatshirt. "See, that's for Communications and that's Chef."

"Very smart. I'm proud of you." I ruffled his hair.

"I can't wait for him to do the Home Help badge. He has to keep his room tidy for a whole week," teased his mother.

"I'm doing Road Safety next, Mum, you know that." He was very serious all of sudden. "With Darren and Sue."

"I know, love, I was only joking." Her eyes were sparkling with mischief and love and I felt a sudden wave of affection for her. We'd not been close while she was growing up, Lucia had made sure of that, but I hoped we were overcoming that.

"I've got a new computer game, Uncle Jack," said the boy. "It's all about trains. Wanna come and see?"

"In a minute, Steven. I want to talk to Uncle Jack first. Take your book," she passed it to him, "and go and set up the game."

"I expect she wants to tell you about the new house," he said, accepting the book and running out of the room.

I looked at Alice who wouldn't meet my gaze. They were moving? This was news to me.

* * *

_In case you wish to know, 'the Blues' refers to Cardiff Blues, a rugby union team._


	77. Chapter 77

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Seven

"I was going to lead up to that bit of news," said Alice, smiling ruefully. "Kids! Never know what they're going to come out with." She had her hands wrapped round her coffee mug and flicked a glance at my face before taking a sip.

"You're moving?"

"Thinking about it."

She still didn't want to look at me and I wondered why. I had never liked this flat and was delighted she was thinking of moving out although … It suddenly hit me that she might be moving away from Cardiff. There was nothing to keep her here now that Lucia was dead. Alice worked part-time as a dental hygienist and could do that anywhere, and Steven was young enough to change schools without difficulty. Was that what she was trying so hard to tell me? I may not see them often but I didn't want them to move miles away.

"This place is too small now," she said after a pause. "It's amazing how much stuff a seven year old collects! Steven's bedroom is … well, it's packed to the gunnels. And the garden's on the small side. I've been looking around for something bigger, three bedrooms so he can have friends to stay over."

"And you've found something?" I ventured cautiously. We didn't have the kind of relationship where we could say what we meant straight out. Instead, we pussyfooted about being polite and trying not to offend one other. One wrong word and our fragile connection would be broken forever.

"I think so. It's a Victorian mid-terrace, recently modernised." Her voice took on the warmth of enthusiasm and she looked excited. "Three good sized bedrooms and a lovely kitchen/diner that opens out onto the garden. It's ideal." She took another drink of coffee. "Steven won't even have to change schools."

They were staying in Cardiff, that was a relief. "So what's the problem? I'd have thought this place would sell."

"Oh, yeah. The estate agent reckons there'll be no problem and I should get a good price. It's the other house."

Now I understood. "How much do you need?"

The only constant contact between Alice and I had been through my cheque book. I had given her a monthly allowance since she was a teenager, increased once she became a wife and mother and then again after the divorce. It meant she didn't have to work full-time and was at home for Steven after school and in the holidays. Occasionally she'd asked for extra but I knew she didn't like doing it, didn't like being beholden to me.

"You make it sound like I only want your money, Dad." She looked at me but I said nothing, just shrugged. What was there to say? "Okay, maybe I deserved that." She stood up abruptly and took her empty coffee mug to the sink and rinsed it out, standing with her back to me she said, "I can't get a mortgage for the extra and my savings won't bridge the gap."

I stood and went to lean on the counter alongside her, putting my coffee mug on the drainer. "I'm happy to help, Alice, you know that. A new house would be good for you both, get you away from reminders of … other times." I placed a hand on her arm, squeezed briefly and removed it. "Now, how much and when do you need it?"

She sighed and turned her head to look at me. "Forty thousand. I know it's a lot to ask." Her hands, resting on the edge of the sink, gripped hard and the white of the knuckles showed through. "I can raise the rest."

"What about legal fees? Surveys? Why don't I make it fifty and then you'll have plenty?" I smiled at her. "I'll transfer it to your account in the next couple of days. But there's one thing I'd like in exchange." Her smile disappeared to be replaced by a wary look. "Don't worry, it's nothing much. I'd like a picture of you two. Got one to spare?"

Now she looked astonished and I was pleased; it's always good to surprise people. No doubt she'd dreaded me asking for more time with my grandson, or even to tell him that I was his grandfather. I'd like that, of course, but I knew it would make her uncomfortable and so I'd never asked. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, her mother had kept us apart and drummed into her how dangerous I could be. Maybe it was true but even if it wasn't it had forced a gulf between us that was proving difficult to bridge.

"I'm sure I've got one somewhere. Thanks, Dad." Her hand touched mine for a moment. "I'll see what I can find. Why don't you go and try Steven's computer game?"

Half an hour later, Steven and I were still playing his game. It was a good one where we could be in the cab of various types of trains – steam, diesel, electric – and either enjoy the ride or drive them ourselves. I'd tried crashing them but Steven didn't appreciate it; he's a very proper little boy.

"I'm going to have to go now," I told him, putting down the controls. "Thanks for showing me the game."

"Do you have to?" he wailed, abandoning the game. "I don't want you to! You should stay to lunch. I'll ask Mum." With that he was off and I followed him into the kitchen in time to hear him say, "Please, Mummy, please. Please make him stay." Steven was pulling on Alice's top, stopping her slicing the carrots.

"Uncle Jack is busy, sweetheart." She looked over the boy's head towards me, willing me to agree.

"That's right. Got to get back to work." I smiled at them. Alice returned the smile but Steven continued to glower at us both.

"But it's Sunday!" the boy protested.

"Still have to work. I'll come and see you again soon."

"Get Uncle Jack's coat for him," prompted Alice, wiping her hands. "Go on, be a good boy or he won't want to come again." He went, dragging his feet and still frowning. "Here, this okay?"

I took the photograph she was holding out. It was of her and Steven taken perhaps a year ago in the garden here. They were smiling and happy, both looking at the camera while washing hung on the line behind them. It was ordinary and perfect. "Thanks, that's great." I'd have liked to hug her but that was not part of our relationship. "Hope it goes well with the house. Let me know if you need help with the move."

"I will. And … thanks, thanks a lot for helping out."

"My pleasure." Behind me I heard the sound of my mobile which I'd left in the pocket of my greatcoat and turned to retrieve it only to see Steven reaching for it. "Hey, let me get that," I said closing the distance between us. I was too late.

"Hello?" he said, holding it to his ear while my coat dangled onto the ground from his other hand. "Yes, he's here. Who's calling?" Pause. "Okay, I'll get him. Uncle Jack, it's a man called Ianto Jones." He held out the mobile with a delighted smile on his face.

I closed my eyes momentarily and sighed inwardly as I took the phone. At this rate Ianto would be privy to all my secrets. "Ianto, what's up?"

"_I was about to order lunch and wondered if you were coming back,"_ he said slowly. _"But perhaps you're busy, Uncle Jack."_ There was no missing the laughter in his voice.

"I'm just leaving so order for me. Be about half an hour." I ended the call and turned to Steven who was battling to hold my coat out for me; he was dwarfed by it and I had to smile. As I had the phone in my hand, I took a quick snap of him. "Thanks." I took the coat and put it on. Alice had come out into the cramped hall and was stood behind Steven with her hands on his shoulders. Both were smiling and I was pleased to be able to leave them looking happy.

"Thanks again," said Alice.

Steven ran forward and wrapped his arms round my waist. "Bye, Uncle Jack."

"Bye, soldier. Be good for your mum." With a wave, I opened the front door and walked out of the flat. When I looked back they were both standing in the doorway looking after me; Steven was waving.

The Hub was full of music when I walked in, McFly I think. No one was in sight and I went to the office, spotting Owen working in the medical bay on one of the Weevils behind the containment field. I felt a small pang of guilt for lumbering him with that but then remembered being poked and prodded and decided he deserved it. I deposited my Webley in the drawer and hung up my coat before sitting at the desk. There were four telephone messages awaiting me. The two from Government Ministers I discarded immediately and put the one from Archie in Glasgow to one side. The last one, from Alan Mace, demanded my attention and I called him. He picked up straightaway.

"Alan, it's Jack. I just got your message."

"_Thanks for calling back."_ His measured, public school tones were as unruffled as ever. It would take a lot to put this guy in a flap. _"We tracked your plane, finally."_

"What do you mean 'finally?'"

"_It's only just reached its destination."_ This was almost forty eight hours after it had taken off from Waterford with the Cyberman on board; where had it been? _"It landed at a small airport outside St Petersburg half an hour ago. It led us quite a dance."_ He went into a long description of how they had tracked it over mainland Europe, refuelling at various airports and crossing many frontiers. _"We're trying to trace the cargo but it's complicated. The Russians are not being co-operative and I've had to get the top brass involved. But I knew you'd want to know what had happened so far."_

"That's good of you." We spoke for a while longer, speculating about what the Cyberman would be doing in Russia and ended with him promising to keep me informed. I put the phone down with regret tinged with relief; the Cyberman was well out of our jurisdiction and I wouldn't have to deal with it.

"You're back, sir." Ianto stood in the office doorway, smiling at me. "We're setting up lunch in the Boardroom."

"Okay, thanks."

He went off while I sat back and thought about all we'd been involved in over the past few weeks. The Rift had been relatively quiet but that hadn't meant a quiet life for us. Far from it. A round-up discussion seemed called for and I looked for the notes I'd made on Friday, finding them anchored under my model spitfire. I saw Owen come out of the medical bay, strip off his protective gear and drop it, and head for the steps. I followed him. Ianto and Toshiko were already there, sorting out foil containers and plates.

"That smells good," I said with a smile taking my usual place at the head of the table.

"Sunday lunch, sir," replied Ianto with a smile. The lids came off the containers and revealed sliced roast pork, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, apple sauce and gravy. "Or as close as I could get."

"Marvellous. Haven't had anything since breakfast," said Owen, holding his plate in one hand and serving himself from the containers lined up down the middle of the table. "And it's been a bloody long morning," he added, glaring in my direction.

I refused to rise to the bait and helped myself to potatoes before passing them to Toshiko. When our plates were full we started eating, and for a minute there was only the sound of us chewing and making appreciative noises.

"Did you see the note to call Colonel Mace, Jack?" asked Toshiko.

"Yeah, just talked to him. Guess where that plane's ended up." I put a forkful of meat and broccoli into my mouth and chewed, looking round at all of them.

"France," said Ianto. "Easy to get to Geneva from there."

"Germany?" suggested Toshiko. She was the only one really interested, the others hadn't been as involved as her in tracking it.

"With our luck it's back in bloody Wales," muttered Owen. He was hunched over his plate stuffing food into his mouth as fast as it would go and had gravy running down his chin.

"You're all wrong. Russia," I told them. They stopping eating for a moment and looked at me. "Somewhere near St Petersburg."

Toshiko looked thoughtful. "UNIT doesn't have much sway there. And from all we've found out about him, Henry Parker doesn't either." I could see her able mind working. "They must have sold it, either to the government or the Russian mob." Her face lit up. "Which explains Tanizaki. He was checking it over as part of the sale."

"Who cares?" Owen interjected. "It's a long way from here, that's what's important." He reached for another slice of pork.

Ianto was quiet, staring down at his plate but not eating. Of all of us, he should be the most relieved it was far away. I put a hand on his arm and smiled when he looked up. "Like Owen says, it out of hands now. UNIT are going to try and get the Russians to track it but whatever the outcome, it's not our problem any more."

"Good." Ianto smiled briefly then went back to his meal.

"What's been happening here?" I asked.

"I've been behind three layers of security in the medical bay and all for bleeding nothing," complained Owen, glaring at me again. He was sitting on the other side of Toshiko and I noticed her pained expression at his harsh words. "Those Weevils had a form of the 'flu. Nothing more, nothing less."

I swallowed my food and took a sip of water before saying, "But I've never seen them sick like that before. Why did it affect them that way?"

"Now that is interesting." Owen was pointing his knife in my direction to make his point until Toshiko put a hand on his arm and pushed it out of her face. "Sorry, Tosh. These three Weevils weren't healthy to begin with. They had a lot of wounds on their backs and limbs, gouges and scratches, some were weeks old and others more recent but all of them infected and inflamed. They'd turned septic and the kidneys and other organs were shot. I'm thinking there may have been a turf war in Weevil-land and these three lost out. The 'flu was the final straw."

"So they're not infectious to us?" asked Ianto, wanting clarification.

"Right. I could have done the autopsies in here and there'd have been no problem!" I got another glare.

"Better to be safe than sorry," said Toshiko. She reached for the carrots and helped herself to some more. "Anyone else?" she asked, offering them around. I had some and so did Owen. "I've finished the report on the Gethrill for UNIT and analysed the information on the memory stick. That ship has a totally new navigation system, something we've never seen before. And the cloaking technology is very sophisticated."

I could see she had had a good morning. "Hope you haven't put too much detail in the report, don't want UNIT hankering after Gethrill technology."

"No, I've kept most of it back. Just added enough detail to keep them happy."

"Good. Ianto, what about you? And eat some more, you've hardly had anything." I reached for the pork and broccoli and put some of both on his plate.

"That's plenty!" he protested, pushing away the spoon. "I checked on Howell Evans and Sam Parnell. They're out of hospital and in custody, charged with smuggling and tax evasion. The police got statements from them in which they admitted to some of the fake transactions so your mind-suggestion thingy worked. They were refused bail, judge thought they'd be a flight risk."

"Excellent news. Getting those two behind bars for a few years will be some recompense for what they did." I took another mouthful of food and chewed it before swallowing. "I swept Suzie's flat again, couldn't find anything that shouldn't be there. Ianto's going to oversee the house clearers tomorrow so he'll be out most of the day."

"Keep an eye out for the Retcon," added Owen, pushing his plate way from him. "That hit the spot. Good choice, teaboy."

"There's one slice of pork left. Jack, you'll eat it, won't you?" Toshiko had it on my plate before I could decline, not that I would have; it really was excellent. "And finish up the veggies." These followed and my plate was full once more.

"There's fruit salad in the fridge," said Ianto, still finishing the extra food I'd pressed on him. "I'll get it in a minute when I make some coffee."

Owen leant forward resting his forearms on the table watching the rest of us eat. "So, who's the kid, Uncle Jack?" he asked putting plenty of emphasis on the last couple of words.

"And what was he doing at Suzie's flat?" added Toshiko with a mischievous smile.

I stared round at them, still eating so saved from having to comment straight away. All of them were grinning now and enjoying catching me out. "Thanks for passing on that titbit, Ianto," I said finally. "He's the son of a friend who I went to see after leaving Suzie's." That should cover it.

"A lady friend?" speculated Owen.

They all laughed and I let them. Better they think that than know the truth.


	78. Chapter 78

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Eight

The teasing about my 'lady friend' and her son went on for the rest of lunch but I took it in good part. They had accepted my explanation which was the important thing. Better they think I might have an ex-lover and a son than know I have a daughter older than them and a grandson.

Back in the office, feeling pleasantly full after an excellent lunch – a nice change from pizza – I put the photograph of Alice and Steven with some others I kept in a tin in my desk. There weren't many, and most of them were of me, but they were a precious reminder of past times. One consequence of living so long is that belongings get lost along the way – the Cardiff Blitz had done for fifty years' worth – and the oddest ones survive. The only photo I had of my previous marriage was a formal wedding picture, that didn't do justice to Mary, and I had none of our children. All of them long dead now but not forgotten. It made me more determined to keep in touch with Alice and Steven.

"Jack, want to take a look through the report?" asked Toshiko from the doorway. She was dressed up today in a loose top and pencil skirt; love agreed with her.

"Sure, come on in." I put the tin away as she sat in the visitor's chair. "Let's have a look."

I leafed through the report as she talked me through what she had included. There was enough detail about the Gethrill, their culture and technology to be interesting but most of the details had been excluded, as I'd requested. She had done a good job and I was sure UNIT would be satisfied. I wasn't in the least perturbed about not giving them everything, they do the same to us. My contacts are much more forthcoming than the official reports we receive.

"That's great, Tosh. Good job." I handed the folder back to her. "You can add a couple of photos of the Gethrill and their ship, just to make them jealous. Anything in the technology we can salvage for ourselves?"

"Not a lot. Some is compatible but I can't see we need cloaking technology. Unless you want to install it in the SUV. Or make Mermaid Quay disappear." She smiled. "The navigation system is worth exploring further and I'd like to run some simulations. Should help us when we come across other spacecraft."

"Okay. If you need a hand, let me know. I'd be interested in taking a look anyway."

"Will do. There's a Rift opening predicted for four this afternoon."

I groaned; we'd had an early start to the day and I'd have liked to send the team home at a reasonable hour. Looks like that plan was dead in the water. "Right. Keep on top of it and make sure the others know." She stood and made to leave. "Hang on, don't go yet." I leant forward, forearms on the desk. "How was your day off?"

"Good, thanks. You were right, I did need a break." She was smiling more broadly now. "My brother was full of all the things he's doing at university. I don't think he has time for any studying!"

"That's what university's for. And your evening?" This was what I really wanted to know. She had gone off with Owen after their snog here and I wanted details.

Toshiko blushed and rolled her eyes but did not look away. "Very pleasant, thank you. And that's all I'm saying!" She turned and walked out but I'd seen that look before, it was the look of a happy and contented woman.

"Spoilsport!" I called after her but she didn't respond.

I devoted the next couple of hours to the dreaded paperwork. I returned Archie's call and from the background noise it was clear he was in the pub, his regular hang out. He wanted our help analysing some mysterious lights in the sky over Inverness as we had more sensitive equipment than him. I must be going soft because I agreed; the task wasn't urgent and could be slotted around other things. I learnt that he had met a couple of people about joining him but that neither was suitable. Not too surprising. Unless they were able to match Archie whisky for whisky and stay on their feet he wouldn't be impressed. He was still looking but I suspected he was happy to remain a one-man band as long as we helped out from time to time. But should we? No, of course not, especially as most of the work fell to Toshiko now Suzie was gone. I couldn't afford to overwork her. And yet, and yet …

I liked helping out as it meant I could keep an eye on what was happening in Scotland. I had always assumed I'd meet The Doctor again here in Cardiff, when he came to refuel, but he'd been in London twice and I'd missed him. I'd be furious if it happened again. The hand I'd recovered at Christmas had shown no signs of animation but I really hoped it wouldn't be long before it started bubbling away. I wanted to be cured so that I could make plans, ones that included a handsome young Welshman who was sitting at his desk across the Hub. I pushed away these thoughts, sent Toshiko an email about the stuff Archie would be sending and went back to the folders and reports.

Around half past three I was reading Owen's weekly summary of strange hospital admissions when a very pleasing aroma wafted my way. Looking up I saw Ianto entering with a mug of coffee in his hand. "Bit early, aren't you?" I said, stupidly as it turned out.

"If you don't want it I'll take it away." He turned and was halfway out of the office before I could react.

"Hey, I didn't say that! Come back." He stood for a moment then slowly turned, a little smile on his expressive lips. He'd been teasing me, the rascal. I'd get him back for that.

"Tosh said there'll be a Rift opening later so I made it now," he explained, putting the mug on my desk. He hovered so I knew he had more to say. "Did you find anything at Suzie's flat?"

"No. Sit down for a minute." He sat as I took a tentative sip of the coffee. It was rather hot but smelt so good I couldn't wait. "What's in this? Tastes different."

"It's a new blend, with citrus," he said, pleased I'd noticed. "It should be refreshing and light."

"It is." I sipped again. "Now, Suzie's flat. Looked like you wanted to talk about it."

"Yes. It occurred to me that as it's rented some of the furniture may not be hers so I accessed the agent's records and got a copy of the agreement. The inventory was pretty detailed, they always are, so I'll make sure we only take what was Suzie's. Do you want me to look out for anything while I'm there?"

I thought about this. "Good call about the stuff that came with the flat. As for the rest … I suppose you could take another look through her papers." I'd scanned it myself but only briefly. "Make a note of anything of interest but otherwise it gets packed up with the rest."

"Do we close her bank account, things like that?"

"No, it gets too complicated." He looked shocked but I had been through this with a lot of other people and had learnt the hard way. "It's easiest if we don't try to explain. One thing leads to another and we'll be at it forever. Better they think she's done a moonlight flit."

"If that's what you want." He paused, obviously not happy. "It might be sensible to continue paying rent on the flat for another month. Then the neighbours won't remember us clearing the place if there's an investigation."

"I doubt anyone would take much notice of you but, yeah, it's a good idea." I wasn't convinced but I didn't want to discourage him. A couple of months' rent wasn't going to break the bank. Which reminded me, I had to talk to mine about moving the money for Alice. I made a quick note on a scrap of paper to do that first thing in the morning.

He stood up. "I'm ready to talk about the budget. I have one or two queries but mostly it looks straightforward."

"Okay. Not tomorrow, obviously. Tuesday?"

"That'll be fine."

He went off and I continued with the summary. Owen always includes one of two funny tales in his list of the weird and strange, things that appeal to his – and my – warped sense of humour. I chuckled when I read about Moira Wilson, 33, who had been admitted to St David's Hospital with two broken arms and a fractured pelvis, caused while changing her duvet cover! Owen's note was short and to the point: 'Never change bed linen on the stairs'. I was hoping for more of the same when the Rift alarm sounded.

"It's near Queen Street Station," announced Toshiko as I joined her and Owen in the work area. Ianto was coming down the steps from the Conference Room carrying Eddy and came over to listen. "Medium size, so far."

"Anything on CCTV?" I asked.

"Just bringing it up." Two of her screens came to life; one showed the station entrance and the other the Magistrates Court opposite. "Good coverage round there but I don't see anything obvious." As she talked she was tapping away at her keyboard and analysing the readings from the Rift monitor.

"What's that?" Owen was pointing to a person slumped on the ground by the taxi rank.

"A drunk?" I suggested. "Can't really tell from this angle."

"But no one's helping. Look, they're all staying well back."

He was right. Half a dozen travellers were standing near the wall of the station, some had mobiles in their hands, one or two were edging away in an effort to avoid any involvement but others looked rooted to the spot. The person on the ground was dressed in dark clothes, far as we could tell, and was half sitting and half lying against a railing. I wondered if it might be a returnee but a quick glance at the Rift signature showed it couldn't be.

"Is that any better?" asked Toshiko, still pressing keys. The image changed angle and we had a close up shot from the back. "There's residual Rift energy, same as we'd get from any opening, but nothing else so far."

"I still can't tell whether he's human," I admitted. "Maybe we'd better go and have a look."

"Hang on, cops have arrived." Owen was looking at the wider shot, now on another screen, and sure enough a familiar white and blue car drew up, lights flashing and stopped in the taxi rank.

"I'm accessing the police channels." This came from Toshiko, always on the ball. Maybe it's true and women are better at multitasking than men; she was certainly better than us.

We watched as one of the officers went to the figure on the ground while the other went off to talk to the people gathered around. I had to smile when yet more decided to beat a hasty retreat. Whatever happened to community spirit and supporting the forces of law and order? The people that stayed were the rubberneckers, the kind who deliberately drive slowly past road accidents, and busybodies. Over the next ten minutes, the police called an ambulance and the man was taken to hospital apparently unconscious. There was nothing to make us believe the man was an alien.

"Nothing for us there," I said, relieved. "Just a coincidence. We'd better go and scan the area and find what did come through, if anything. Don't want another of those bombs lying around. Tosh, you and me. Owen, keep an eye on things here."

Ten minutes later I was driving through the city, quiet on this late Sunday afternoon. Most of the city centre shops were closed now and it was a bit early for drinkers to be causing a problem. I parked in Fitzalan Place and we walked across to the station. Toshiko scanned the area for Rift energy and specific traces of the two types of bomb we'd found before. For the next half an hour, we covered the station entrance and platforms and found absolutely nothing. For once the Rift had been kind and not sent anything through. It happened from time to time, a little respite in an otherwise constant barrage of items and people.

We rolled back to the Hub at just gone five. Owen was at his desk with Eddy climbing up his leg and looked over when we came through the door. "Nothing?" he asked, swivelling his chair round to look in our direction.

"No. We checked for everything." Toshiko put her equipment on her desk before hanging up her coat. "What about that man?" She reached for Eddy and cooed over him.

"Michael Jackson. No, not that one," he said with a grin. "He's a patient at Providence Park. Asperger's Syndrome, poor sod. Seems he'd created a bit of a stir and then collapsed. He'll be all right."

"Good." I continued to the office and Owen followed me in, leaning on the doorjamb. "You want something?"

"Yeah. Fancy a drink?"

"You and me? Didn't know you cared, Owen." I grinned at him as I hung up my greatcoat.

He ignored the comment. "All of us. It was a week ago, thought it might do us all good."

He was talking of Suzie, of course. Exactly a week ago I was starting to have suspicions about her and that evening had found her about to murder her third victim. And then, in the early hours of the following morning, she had killed herself. Just a few hours but it had changed my team. They seemed to be dealing with the consequences better than I could have hoped but Owen's idea was a good one, and worthy of my unofficial deputy. I was sure we could all do with some company tonight.

"You're right. Let's do it. Spoken to the others?"

"Not yet. Why don't you go ask Ianto? He's down in the archives."

Leaving Owen to speak to Toshiko, who was back at her desk with Eddy on her lap, I went downstairs. Ianto was in the registry sorting a heap of folders. He had taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie. His glanced in my direction then went back to his task.

"Did you need me, sir?"

"What a question. I always need you, Ianto. What are you doing?" I had come up to stand by the desk and watched as he moved folders about apparently at random.

"Putting these in order. I've changed the index system from the one used when these were filed." He paused and looked at me more closely. "Why are you here?"

"We're thinking of going out for a drink. Owen's suggestion. How about it?"

He looked suspicious. "Owen?"

"Yeah." I paused. "It's been a week since -"

"I know," he interrupted. "Yeah, all right. Though I warn you, I may get drunk."

I went to him then and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him close. "No problem. You okay?" He looked weighed down by the cares of the world all of a sudden and I wanted to make them all go away. Impossible, I know, but I still wanted to try.

He was silent for a few minutes, thinking. I wasn't sure he'd tell me what was on his mind but then he spoke. "I was in the cells just now and … it all came back. Suzie with a gun at my head. I really thought I was going to die."

I held him closer, pulling his head down onto my shoulder. "I know. I was scared too, probably more than you. But we have to put it behind us."

"Umm. I do, most of the time." He pulled back, took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Are we going now or do I have time to finish this?" He was remarkable. Whatever knocks he took, he bounced back.

"We're going round six but I think you should use the time to change. Wear that sexy red shirt again," I kissed him, "and the tight jeans."

His chuckle was music to my ears. "Long as you promise not to feel me up me all night."

"Promise. You can grope me instead." With a mischievous grin, I added, "We've got Owen and Tosh to watch anyway, should be quite a show."

"You leave them alone!" He pulled out of my arms completely and wagged a finger at me. "Tosh is really happy, don't you go messing it up."

"Me?" I had practiced the innocent tone and facial expression but Ianto was not impressed.

"Yes, you." He poked me with that previously wagging finger. "No rude comments, understand?"

"Okay! This is going to be a seriously boring evening." I pouted but he didn't relent.

"I'll go and change. Ask Tosh to put Eddy in his carry case for me."

We walked out and I left him at his room, climbing back up to the work area. The others were at their desks and as Toshiko was busy with something or other I took charge of Eddy. The little bundle was sleepy and lay in my palm, curled up and content. He was so cute it was real shame to have to put him in the case. We left at six ten, keen to have an evening out of the Hub and to relax.


	79. Chapter 79

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Seventy Nine

"Is he okay?" asked Toshiko, nodding in the direction of Ianto.

I followed her gaze to see him standing midway between us and the bar, a bottle of lager in his hand and a silly grin on his face looking gorgeous in his jeans and sweatshirt. His eyes were half closed and he was singing along to the music coming from the speakers while surrounded by a gaggle of young women. "He's just a little … merry."

"Bloody drunk, you mean," put in Owen from the other side of Toshiko. He had his arm along the back of her chair and they were sitting close together. "If you don't sort him, he'll be chucked out." His scathing tone was a bit rich considering the number of times he'd been wasted.

"He deserves to let his hair down once in a while."

We had been in Bar Reunion for three hours and I considered the night out was doing us all a power of good. We'd spoken of Suzie, sharing lots of good memories which outweighed the more recent, less good ones. Toshiko and Owen were content to remember Suzie as a valued colleague and had already moved on. I had too. I still felt guilty but I didn't let it bother me; I could live with it. Only Ianto had still to come to terms with what had happened. The manner of Suzie's death had put his own life in danger adding to the survivor guilt he usually buried behind a stoic facade. The drink had flowed steadily but not liberally with Ianto the only one to overindulge. And I was glad he had. If a bit of booze helped him then so be it. Although he might be going too far now; he was pressed up to one of the women, snogging her.

"Better get in there or he'll be going home with her," pointed out Owen, a malicious smirk on his face. He and Toshiko had stuck close all evening. She had even got him to dance which was almost unprecedented. It had been a joy to watch them; he attentive and considerate and she letting go of some her inhibitions. Now all I had to do was keep them together.

"I think you may be right," I sighed, pushing back my chair. Weaving through the crowd, I kept my eye on Ianto and, after avoiding an arguing pair of lovers, came up behind him. "Hey, there," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He turned unsteadily, putting out an arm to maintain his balance. "Jack! These are my friends!" The arm was flung wide to include the women; one of them had to duck to avoid being hit in the face. "This is Jack," he went on, addressing them. His voice was a little slurred and a tad too loud. "He's my boss."

"Hello, Jack. Come and join us." A skinny blonde in short skirt and low-cut top revealing disproportionately large breasts latched onto my arm and tried to drag me in her direction.

"Sorry. I'd love to but I have to get big boy here home." I grinned at the blonde, attempting to pry her hand from my arm. She was tenacious, I'll say that for her.

"Yeah, I am a big boy," Ianto giggled, "but not as big as you, Jack. You're bigger than me." He turned to say, even more loudly, to the group around us, "We measured and he's bigger." This set the women giggling and I was finally able to get free of the blonde and wrap an arm round Ianto's waist.

"Size matters, and that's why you're coming home with me."

"I'd go anywhere with you, Jack." He fell against me and, with his arms wrapped round my neck, kissed me noisily and with rather too much saliva. "Isn't he gorgeous?" he said to the crowd. "And he's mine."

"I should have known," muttered the blonde, finally moving away from my side. "All the best ones are gay."

"Time to go home, Ianto," I soothed, taking a step towards our table.

"Umm, home." He escaped my grasp and had his arm round the redhead he'd been snogging earlier. "Know what? I live in a hole, a hole in the ground. I do! And there's a dinosaur and a green cat with no legs. And lots of other things!"

I rolled my eyes. At this rate he'd be telling them all about Torchwood. "Don't know what you're talking about." I pulled him off the redhead and kept a better grip on him this time, easing him away from the women. "Bye, ladies."

"Bye bye," echoed Ianto, grinning stupidly but coming with me willingly. On the way back to the table, he started humming to the music and he was singing when I finally got him to a chair. "I like this song." His words were still clear despite the slight slurring. "And I like you, all of you. You're my best friends," he said expansively, throwing out his arms and nearly whacking Owen in the eye.

"Oy! Watch it." Owen scowled at him. "Get him home."

"Think you might be right," I agreed. We'd had a good time but I'd be happy to get back to the Hub and be alone with Ianto. Not that I expected him to be conscious for long. "Come on, Ianto, we're going." I finished my drink and stood up.

"Going? Where?" Ianto blinked at me, his eyes wide as he swayed in his chair.

"Home." I spoke slowly and clearly. "Remember? Time for you and me to be alone."

A silly grin came over Ianto's face – he was very childlike when drunk – and he giggled like a schoolgirl. "With the hockey stick?"

"Maybe. Put your jacket on." I snagged the jacket from the back of his chair and held out the sleeve for him.

"Hockey stick? What's this then?" asked Owen, face alight with curiosity. He and Toshiko looked really cosy together, heads close and both grinning at Ianto's words.

"Oh it's very, very, very good." Ianto's arm kept missing the sleeve so I grabbed his wrist and thrust it in. "You see I have the stick and put it up -"

"I don't think they need to know that," I interrupted. "Let's keep some secrets."

"Now who's the spoilsport?" laughed Toshiko. She'd been sensible and paced her drinking so was in full control of herself. No more drinking herself to sleep to avoid watching Owen flirting with other women, not now she had finally won him. "I left an analysis running, Jack. I thought whatever opened the Rift might have dispersed in the atmosphere. You may want to check."

I had both Ianto's arms in his jacket now and hauled him to his feet. "Will do. We'll be off. Don't be late tomorrow."

"We won't. Goodnight."

"'Night, Tosh. 'Night, Owen," said Ianto waving as we moved away from the table. I kept a hand on his arm, steering him through the crowd and out of the main door. Once we were in the air he took a few paces, groaned and stopped still, the effect of the alcohol hitting him.

"Are you going to be sick?" I asked, watching him warily.

He thought about this for some moments. "Not if you make the ground stop moving."

"You idiot," I laughed. "SUV is this way. Come on."

I got him back to the Hub before he was sick but only just. It took a couple of hours for him to calm down and eventually I was able to get him into the showers which sobered him considerably. In the space of fifteen minutes he went from being a garrulous and amorous drunk who thought everything was funny to a man who couldn't keep his eyes open and needed help to stay on his feet. It was quite amazing. Once in bed, he was out like a light.

Deciding he would be safe from nightmares, I went back to the work area and settled at Toshiko's desk. The Rift predictor program, one of Toshiko's masterpieces, was showing no activity for the rest of the night, and nothing for the following day either. I went to the analysis she had been running and became engrossed in the findings. Something, I couldn't tell what, had indeed come through the Rift and had dissolved in the upper atmosphere leaving miniscule traces of neutrino energy behind. At these levels the energy was not harmful so there was nothing for us to do, however, I was intrigued about what it could have been and ran a few scenarios. The closest I got was a Trebellic spear, an explosive device with the force of a few pounds of Semtex. Not as powerful as the explosive devices that we'd seen thus far but, if it was what had come through, another sign of a war going on somewhere. I left the results for Toshiko to look at in the morning.

I'd had enough of the work area for a while and didn't want to be alone. I'd have liked a shag but that was out of the question, with Ianto anyway. After gathering some reports from my desk, a Cornish pasty from the fridge – it didn't appear to belong to anyone – and two bottles of water, I went back to Ianto's room. He was sleeping soundly and I didn't disturb him, settling in an easy chair with my feet up on an overturned waste basket. Munching the pasty, I started on the reports.

The first was another of Owen's, this time the preliminary results of the autopsies on the Weevils we'd found that morning. He'd started the report too and I read them both, getting more concerned. The injuries inflicted on the Weevils did not appear to be the result of a territorial dispute. Some of them could not have been made by Weevils at all. Owen had earmarked these for further study, not speculating on their cause. I looked at the photographs from all angles and to me they looked like knife marks, targeted to cause the most pain. Torture? Possible. Over the years, we'd come across Weevils victimised by gangs of alien incomers or human hoodlums but these had targeted weak individuals, those not part of the larger pack. The three Weevils we'd encountered had been strong, at least until they'd been attacked. Were more powerful aliens moving in on Weevil territory? Or were humans terrorising them for their perverted pleasure? It was bad news either way.

Putting that report aside – after brushing off the pasty crumbs - I went on to the others, some technical ones from Toshiko and routine updates from Ianto. These I got through quickly. When I'd finished, I drank the last of my water and looked round for something else to do. Ianto was snuffling in his sleep but seemed quiet enough. I watched him for a while but even his cuteness got boring after a while. Time to explore. I went through the new possessions that he had brought into the room and was delighted to find a copy of Asimov's _Foundation Trilogy_ which I'd read in the 1940s when it was first published. This would while away a few empty hours. I was soon lost in the world of Hari Seldon and psychohistory.

Movement and sounds from the bed attracted my attention. Ianto was on his side facing me and his eyes were open but unfocussed. "Hello."

He peered in my direction and eventually worked out who I was. "Did I make an ass of myself last night?" he asked, carefully and slowly sitting up.

"Not much." I put the book down, after marking my place, and sat on the bed. "I'm sure the redhead liked being kissed." He groaned and put his head in his hands. "And you have a great voice, you should sing more often."

"Oh God. Why didn't you stop me?" He rubbed his hands through his hair making it stand up on end. "Yuck, feels like I've eaten a ball of cotton wool."

"Have this." I handed him the water I'd left on the side. "Headache?"

"Not too bad." He drank half the bottle then leant back against the headboard. "What were you doing over there?" He nodded towards the chair and grimaced at the movement.

"Working while keeping an eye on you. You know I like to watch you sleep." He didn't seem particularly bothered about my answer, taking another drink of the water and groaning a bit more.

"I'm going to have a shower." I moved back as he squeezed out from under the duvet. He was doing everything slowly, moving like an old man – or one with a worse hangover than he was admitting.

"It's four o'clock," I protested.

"So?" He swung his legs down, wincing when the movement jarred his head. "I need to get clean." He levered himself upright.

"Fine but you had a shower before you went to bed," I pointed out. He gave me a look that said 'Don't argue with me' and finished the bottle of water. "I'll get out of your way." I went over to the chair, picked up the reports and made to leave. "Okay if I borrow this?" I held up the book.

He nodded, regretted it instantly and groaned. "If you want." Holding onto any handy surface – wall, bed, back of a chair – he made it to the door and tottered off down the corridor. Seeing him suffer made me glad that one of the side effects of my undying state is that alcohol doesn't affect me.

He joined me in the work area an hour later, dressed in a suit and looking much his normal self. A mug of coffee was placed before me then he sat in the visitor's chair sipping from a tall glass of orange juice. "I'll be off at nine," he said without preamble. "Want me to leave some coffee for you?"

"God yes! You know we need it to get through the day. Anything we need to do while you're out?" I drank in the aroma of the coffee before sipping it.

"I'll feed the inmates but you could do the alerts, if you don't mind."

"Umm, I'll do that. Anything else?"

"No. Just try not to make too much of a mess." He sat, cradling his drink. "I'll put Eddy in the playroom. He'll be safe there."

"Headache any better?"

"Almost gone. Don't think I'm up to cooking breakfast though." He grinned faintly. "I won't be doing this again in a hurry." He sipped his juice.

"I'm guessing you don't do this too often."

"Rarely. Felt right last night though." I let the silence grow, hoping he'd elaborate. He didn't.

"Perhaps you should talk to Duncan Strachan again. Might help." I wasn't sure how he'd react to this, could be angry or passive. It was a bit of both.

"I know! I might try him later on, if I get a minute."

Deciding to leave the idea with him, we sat in companionable silence for a while sipping our drinks before he got up and went off to the cells. I went down to my quarters and showered, shaved and changed. Back in the office, I texted Toshiko and asked her to pick up some breakfast on her way in; I was hoping for pastries, large sticky ones. Booting up the PC, I checked the emails – not too many as the pesky politicians and their aides don't work on Sundays – and dealt with some of them before opening up the folder where the alerts were routed.

It was an interesting mix. The more sensible of the SOT ('Something's Out There', as Suzie had named them) sites continued their speculation on the causes and details of the Battle of Canary Wharf. I had a feeling that one would run and run. The fringe sites were dealing in fantasy again: abduction by sex-crazed aliens in silver spaceships is still the favourite closely followed by crop circles. Interestingly, one site had a report of the lights over Inverness – I sent details of that one to Toshiko to link with the stuff Archie was sending. Closer to home, _Dark Talk_ reported more sightings of Weevils. They were getting braver, or maybe the sewers were not as comfortable. Could something be moving in down there?

Leaving the websites, I checked the police reports. Amid the usual reports of drunkenness and associated fights were three of domestic violence, a half dozen burglaries and a drowning in the River Ely. Just another quiet night in Cardiff! None of these appeared to require any further investigation so I moved on to the hospitals. This looked more promising. The Cardiff Royal Infirmary reported an intruder in its basement. A grainy black and white image was included that looked very like a Weevil. Security were working through the building - a rambling old Victorian monstrosity that had been added to and altered over the years – but hadn't yet caught it. Given all the other things we'd discovered about the Weevils lately, this would need to be followed up. I sent the link to Owen with an email to check what was happening. I also planned to chat to him about his autopsy findings.

Ianto was back at his desk going through paperwork, a fixed look on his face. I suspected he was still suffering but unwilling to give in. Knowing he might not like it but doing it anyway, I emailed Duncan Strachan with details of Ianto's current state. I suggested that, if Ianto didn't contact him, he might check in with Ianto today or tomorrow. I'd be happier if I knew Ianto had spoken to him.

At seven fifty, Toshiko came in. I was surprised she was alone – surely she and Owen had spent the night together? – but more interested in the large box she was carrying. Pastries!


	80. Chapter 80

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty

"On your own?" I asked as I sauntered out to meet Toshiko. The box of pastries was on the coffee table and I edged closer.

She looked over from where she was standing by her desk, emptying her bag of glasses and mobile. The Glock stayed in there as she put the bag on the floor. "Yes. You don't think I'm going to get all clingy, do you? Quickest way to make Owen run a mile." She smiled. "And help yourself to a pastry."

"Just the one, sir." Ianto had come over with some coffee for Toshiko and me.

That was a bit rich. Only one pastry? That was like putting a bone in front of a dog and not allowing it to eat. I ignored him, sat on the sofa and opened the box to see half a dozen rich, gooey Danish pastries. I was sure one of the extras was for me. As I pondered the important question of which one to pick, Toshiko and Ianto were chatting about the night before. Poor Ianto was seeking reassurance that he had not embarrassed himself; he cares so much about what people think. I finally went for a pecan and maple pastry and sat back.

"What time did you leave the bar?" I asked Toshiko, my feet up on the table.

"Not long after you." She scooted across in her chair and took a raisin whirl. "Ianto?" She held out the box to him.

"No, thanks. My stomach's still a bit delicate."

"All the more for us," I beamed. That meant two each IF Toshiko decided to have a second, she often didn't. I took another bite of the pecan delicacy and chewed.

Ianto raised that one eyebrow again, a sure sign he was displeased with me, and turned to Toshiko. "Make sure you take the money from the petty cash. And I've put Eddy in the playroom. Would you look in on him in from time to time? Just to make sure he's okay."

"Of course. Want me to feed him?" They went off into a discussion of the Eddykk's diet and I tuned out, concentrating on my breakfast. After a few minutes, Ianto went back to his desk and Toshiko started looking at her screens. "I've got that stuff from Archie," she said, over her shoulder.

"Good. Run it through the usual scans and analyses but it takes a back seat to our stuff. You were right about something dispersing in the atmosphere yesterday." I went through my findings with her – she had them up on a screen – and we discussed them for a while. "If you can make a more definite identification, let me know."

"Will do. Rift looks clear for the rest of the day."

"Good. We may have some trouble with the Weevils." She looked up in alarm. "Not sure yet, but it looks like they may be under attack. We'll discuss it further when Owen gets in, he is our resident expert after all." I grinned to show I didn't believe it. "Any idea when he might deign to show his face?"

"No idea. Why don't you call him?" She refused to look at me, the tease. She knew I wanted details, lots of details, of their relationship but she wasn't letting on.

"I'll do that." Taking another pastry – glazed apple this time – I went to the office and found my mobile. Pressing speed dial for Owen, I waited for him to pick up.

"_I'm coming, I'm coming." _He sounded even more than usually harassed. _"Something happening?"_

"No, just need you in. How long you going be?" I asked.

"_Soon as I can finding my sodding car keys I'll be on my way. Teaboy doing breakfast?"_

"No, he's a bit fragile this morning." Owen's unsympathetic guffaw was no surprise. "But Tosh brought in some pastries."

"_Then I'd better be quick or you'll have scoffed the lot."_ Cheek! _"Ah, got 'em. Be about fifteen minutes, depending on the traffic." _

Twenty three minutes later, Owen strolled through the garage door. It was gone nine o'clock and Ianto had left ten minutes earlier. I was stuck in the office having been collared by the Home Secretary, Brian Collinge, who was setting up a committee to co-ordinate emergency responses in the event of invasion. He didn't want me to join, knew better than to ask, but he did want my comments on the draft findings as they emerged. My first reaction was a resounding 'no' but Brian was one of the few politicians I liked; he played things straight and we had helped one another out in the past. After twenty minutes of talking back and fro I reluctantly agreed as long as my role was kept secret.

During the time I'd been on the phone, Owen had got himself coffee and wolfed down two of the pastries. I'd watched him, counting them as he ate with my mouth watering. Toshiko had not had another so there was one left. They were both sitting at their desks, chatting while they worked, when I strolled out of the office. I checked the open box on the table to confirm there was a pastry there and moved that way.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Owen, swivelling his chair to follow me. "That's Tosh's."

I stopped. If I made a grab for it, I was pretty sure I'd beat Toshiko to the box but it was a bit undignified to fight over a pastry. It just looked so tempting, sitting there all on its own. "Then she must have it." I picked up the box and presented it to her with a little bow.

She looked at the box, at me and then at Owen. I hoped she was going to refuse but instead she reached out and took the pastry! "Thank you." She placed it on her desk, on a scrap of paper, and smiled at me.

"Tosh tells me you want to talk Weevils." Owen was still facing our way, his ankles and arms crossed, a smirk on his face. "This about the one at the Royal or my autopsy report?"

"The autopsies mainly. Those wounds weren't caused by Weevils. They were too precise. Weevils slash, these were cuts." I sat on the coffee table staring at the pastry I'd lost. "I thought it might be torture."

"I don't know about that. I've seen small cuts like that before which were definitely caused by other Weevils." He reached behind him and took the report onto his knee, looking at the photographs. At her desk, Toshiko had accessed them electronically and displayed them on a screen. "There were only two I was unsure about. These." He passed across two photographs, 10x8 glossies. "Numbers eight and nine, Tosh."

I looked at the photos. They were the ones that had caught my eye earlier. "Looks like a serrated blade to me," I said, "or a claw. Some of the crustacean life forms would leave wounds like these."

"Maybe. I've excised them ready for further examination, want me to do it now?"

"According to the database, the wounds match a Pisn'ioc primary incisor," added Toshiko. "Last time we came across any of those was … twelve years ago when a family group turned up in the Taff."

I remembered that. Kris Svensson, a biologist working with us at the time, had tracked them down and we'd all been roped in to capture them. They were slightly smaller than an adult Weevil but had two claw-like incisors at shoulder height – as well as two arms lower down their body – which made them formidable fighters if roused. Luckily the ones Kris'd found had still been traumatised by their trip through the Rift and we'd got the four of them without too much trouble. They'd been sent back through the Rift a few days later. I told the others this, fleshing out the report Toshiko had found.

"You think more have arrived and been missed?" asked Owen, standing by Toshiko's desk looking at the images there.

"Could be. A lot of stuff could have arrived after 2000. Things were a bit hectic back then." That was an understatement. Being left on my own, I'd responded to one Rift opening in four if I was lucky until Suzie had joined up and we'd got a handle on things.

"Or you might have missed one of them in 1995." Toshiko was looking at more data on the creatures. "Says here they normally have a litter of three and only two youngsters were sent back with their parents."

I got up and joined the pair of them, reading over Toshiko's shoulder. Torchwood One had encountered the Pisn'ioc more often than us and had amassed a lot of data following experiments on them. While I didn't like London's methods, the data they'd gathered was coming in useful.

"They're pretty hardy from a young age," pointed out Owen. "A youngster of four or five months old, which this one, if there was one, would have been could have survived. But they're social, like company. Can't see one growing up in isolation."

"The Weevils could have taken it in." I walked up and down as I thought this through. "If, and it is only an if, a young Pisn'ioc was stranded here a Weevil female could have brought it into a nest where it would have been cared for. They like the same sort of environment and diet."

"So why's it turned on them now?" Owen was standing, arms crossed looking thoughtful.

Toshiko joined in the brainstorming session. "Doesn't know its own strength? Or trying to carve out its own space? They are territorial."

I snapped my fingers and grinned as realisation hit me. "Sex. It would be a full grown adult by now and looking for a mate. Maybe it's trying to find a compliant Weevil female."

They thought about this for a moment or two, nodding their heads in agreement. We tossed around ideas a bit more. So far it was all conjecture; we had to get some hard facts before we could take it any further. The obvious first step was for Owen to examine the Weevils' wounds more closely with the Pisn'ioc in mind; he should be able to confirm or exclude it as the cause. He went off to the medical bay to get started, at the same time monitoring events at the Royal Infirmary where I thought their intruder was a Weevil. Toshiko began a search of all Rift openings over the past twelve years looking for the Pisn'ioc signature in case we were dealing with newcomers. She was also going to plot recent Weevil movements. All this was in addition to her normal work; I expect she'd knit me a sweater too if I asked.

It was all very promising and best of all I'd escaped having to do anything at all. After getting my Webley and greatcoat, I walked back into the work area. "I'm going to check the market. See if Idris has anything on his stall that he shouldn't."

With a cheery wave, I went up on the lift. A few Council chaps were wandering around measuring the Oval Basin and I discovered they were preparing for the coming weekend's Festival of French Food and Drink that Ianto had warned us about. We'd need to keep an eye on the workmen and make sure we didn't use the lift at that time. I headed off up Lloyd-George Avenue relishing the fresh air and exercise. The sky was dull and overcast but it was dry, at least for now, and I stepped out making for the city centre ahead.

My main object in coming out was not, of course, the market. Idris Morgan was a small-time trader who had a record of buying and selling alien bits and pieces but he was not a major concern. We kept an eye on him more out of habit than any fear he'd come across something important. No, my reason for heading into the city was to visit the bank and transfer the money Alice had requested. I wanted to encourage her to stay in Cardiff and getting the money into her account promptly would, I hope, ensure the house purchase went through without a hitch. It might also give me a reason to keep in touch more often, maybe even visit regularly and see more of her and Steven.

An hour later I had authorised the transfer and was sitting in the small café at the covered market with a bacon sandwich and a mug of coffee. The sandwich was marvellous and the coffee … well, it was hot but not a patch on Ianto's. Thinking of the boy reminded me of him and I took out my mobile and speed dialled his number.

"_Jones." _

"Ohh, very formal. And stern, you may want to work on that a bit, Ianto. Could put people off."

"_Can I help you, sir?"_ There was no mistaking the impatience in his voice.

"What, aren't you pleased to hear me? I'm wounded, Ianto, wounded to the quick."

"_And I'm busy. I assume you have nothing to do so decided to harass me." _

"Not true. I enjoy harassing you. I set aside time in my day for that very purpose." This was fun. I didn't get enough opportunities to call him and I was starting to see the possibilities. Phone sex would be great, those rolling Welsh vowels would add a completely new dimension. I was getting aroused just thinking about it.

He sighed deeply. _"I really am busy, sir. You didn't tell me this place had been left completely unattended. The fridge is a bio-hazard in its own right!" _

Probably not the best time to suggest the phone sex, I decided. "I just wanted to know how you were getting on. Brendan and Will turn up okay?"

"_On the dot and they're doing a good job. But I'll be holding them up if I don't sort out the fridge. So if there's nothing else?" _He let the question hang in the air.

"No, you get on. Bye."

"_Bye."_ The call was disconnected from his end and I was left to my sandwich and coffee.

Idris was in his late thirties and a big lad. He had played rugby when he was younger, one of those that gets into the huddle and puts his head up another man's bum. Well, that's what it looks like to me the few – very few – times I've ever seen a game. He was sitting disconsolately behind his stall reading a tabloid and grimaced when he saw me. "I haven't got anything you'd be interested in, Captain. I got the message last time you were here."

"Just passing through, Idris. Trade's a bit slow." I idly looked over his wares which included cheap china figurines, a garish tea-set from the 1950s, a couple of Victorian oil lamps, tired toys, horse brasses and other trifles.

"I know. But Monday's never that great."

I smiled at him. "So where's the good stuff?" I knew he had to have more than this. What he had on display wouldn't pay the rent on the stall. He looked all innocent but his eyes betrayed him, flicking to look underneath the stall. "Tut-tut-tut. Let's see." I lifted the flap and squeezed in beside him.

"I told you, Captain, it's nothing you'd be interested in."

He made a half-hearted attempt to stop me but I was soon crouched down looking through the boxes stored under the counter. One contained porn magazines to suit every taste, there were even some combinations I hadn't tried. Well, not in a long time. Another was full of DVDs and CDs, pirated off the internet or shot illegally in cinemas. Some of the titles made it clear the contents would be more than X-rated. The final box had some little beauties.

"You've been telling porky pies, Idris." I held up the bag full of Pilurian currency which was just one of the alien items in the box. "I thought I was going to be able to trust you but now … I'm very disappointed, Idris."

"It … it's the last lot. I was just hoping to get a few quid for the stuff."

I stood up, dropped the currency back in the box and sighed dramatically. He was sweating now, frightened of what I might do to him. My reputation had gone before me which was good, meant I didn't have to get nasty. He was scared enough. "I'm confiscating this, Idris, and if I find you selling anything like it again I won't be so lenient. I may not be in such a good mood next time, understand?" I moved in closer, pinning him to the wall.

"Yes, yes! Take it."

"Sensible, Idris, very sensible." I bent and picked up the box, folded the top flaps so it was closed and went out of the stall. "Be seeing you." I'm sure he muttered something uncomplimentary as I walked away.

The clock on the front of the St. David's Centre showed it was eleven forty, time to head back to the Hub. It was a pleasant stroll and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city all around me: people hurrying between shops, tourists with maps trying to take in all the sights, builders working on yet another block of flats, old folk taking it easy on benches watching other people rushing by. Coming down St Mary Street I spotted a bendy-bus headed for the Bay and hopped on.

I was sitting looking out of the window minding my own business when, as we approached the Quay, I saw the SUV going the other way with Toshiko driving and Owen beside her. They didn't look to be in a rush but they hadn't told me they were taking off. What was going on?


	81. Chapter 81

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty One

The bus stopped to let off an elderly woman and I jumped off too. Normally I'd have stayed on until we'd reached the Millennium Centre but I wanted to keep Toshiko and Owen in sight. What were they up to? Where were they going? I was reaching for my mobile when it started to ring. It was Owen.

"_Jack,"_ he began without waiting for me to say anything, _"Tosh and I are heading up to the Royal."_

"Why are you making Tosh drive?" I threw that in to put him off his stride, let him imagine I had eyes everywhere.

"_What?"_ I watched his head turn to look at Toshiko who was in the driver's seat. A very strange place for her to be; she normally hated driving the large vehicle. They were about a hundred and fifty metres away waiting for the lights to change and I had a good view.

"I can see you. What's happened?"

"_You can …"_ His head swivelled round in all directions. _"Where are you?"_

"Five o'clock, Owen." He looked over his shoulder and spotted me standing at the edge of the pavement. "Now, what's happened?"

"_The security guards are closing in on that intruder. Thought we'd better go and check it out in case it is a Weevil. Want us to wait for you?" _

I thought about this a moment then saw the traffic lights change to green. "No, you carry on. Suss it out and call me when you know more."

"_Okay."_ He ended the call and the SUV continued up the road and was soon lost among all the other vehicles.

I hefted the box I was carrying and headed for Mermaid Quay. They'd made the right call, better for some of us to be on the scene and help contain the situation than have to sort out a mess afterwards. Entering the Hub via the lift, I was greeted by Myfanwy who circled around me but otherwise it was very quiet. I had the place to myself which hadn't happened often since Ianto had joined us and moved in. I missed him waiting for me. And his coffee. But I could still have some of that, I recalled with a smile; he'd left some in the kitchen.

Rather than take the box of artefacts to the work area, which was cluttered enough, I put it on Suzie's old desk throwing my coat over a chair. With a mug of coffee to fortify me, I started laying out the goodies I'd confiscated. Along with the currency were a decorative headdress worn by port officials on Ebtiss III, two pieces of a Levantuk warrior's armour, a child's toy from Dellinsherra Province and some pots and pans from Zanzifii. A weird and wonderful collection and none of it harmful. Leaving it where it was – Toshiko might be interested and I couldn't be bothered to pack it up again - I went to the office and quickly jotted down some basic details of my visit to Idris Morgan and the items I'd confiscated. I emailed this to Ianto, copied to the others, to be added to Idris' file.

Owen had sent me an update on his further examination of the Weevils' wounds. It was still inconclusive, the cuts could have been made by a Pisn'ioc or a knife. He was running a full spectrum tox-screen looking for biological traces of the perpetrator which should, finally, give us a definitive answer. Print-outs of part of the report of the encounter back in 1995 were attached and I scanned these, remembering the people as much as the incident. Alex Hopkins had recruited an excellent team and we'd all got on well which had made it such a tragedy when he'd lost it and killed them all and then himself. I accessed the electronic files but it was not much more than I'd seen already; I was going to have to go down to the archives.

The registry was eerie without Ianto sitting at the desk. Evidence of his hard work was evident everywhere: the surfaces were clean and the mess of case files and related folders were in the drawers behind neat labels. I found the file I wanted in a trice and walked out – almost. Facing me was a large notice which said "IF YOU TAKE A FILE OUT OF THIS ROOM, NOTE THE REGISTER'. And so, like a good little boy, I went back and scribbled the file number, my name and the date in the loose leaf folder on Ianto's desk, adding a smiley face and kisses. He'd like that, I was sure.

On the way back, as I was passing anyway, I opened the playroom to check on Eddy. The little Eddykk was on a pipe running just above head height and as soon as he saw me he jumped off, landed on my shoulder, ran down my front and back up to come to rest on my chest. He was pleased to see me; if he'd had a tail he'd have been wagging it. He was also wet. The source of the wetness was a large children's paddling pool set up in one corner of the room and which Eddy obviously used for swimming. Trust Ianto to find time to get a pool and set it up. After a stop in the shower room to dry off – me and Eddy – I made it back to the work area and sat on the sofa with the file. Eddy explored before settling alongside my leg and going to sleep. We were both still there when Toshiko called.

"_Jack, it is a Weevil. It's on the top floor and we've cordoned off the area. We're going to need your help to get him out of here." _

"Sure. Authorities being a problem?" I was walking to the office as we talked.

"_You could say. There's a consultant who's kicking up a stink. He's convinced we're trying to remove a patient and no one can find the boss to overrule him." _

I was strapping on my Webley and held the mobile between my ear and shoulder. "Can't Owen sort him? He did work there."

"_That's part of the problem."_ Her tone was dry but I could sense her frustration.

One unfortunate consequence of being a secret organisation is that few people have ever heard of us. When they meet us for the first time, usually in the middle of an incident like this one, we have to faff about until someone knocks some heads together. Grace Adams, the Chief Operating Officer, knew the score and would give us free rein but in her absence Toshiko and Owen needed some additional clout and I was it. "I'm on my way. Keep things cool until I get there."

"_I'll try." _

I reached for my greatcoat but it wasn't there, it was still over the other side of the Hub. I was about to get it when I spied Eddy. I couldn't leave him out or we'd lose him again. His carry case was in the playroom and I didn't have time to go down there. I picked him up and went back to the office, opened the hatch and dropped down putting Eddy on the bed. He curled round and went back to sleep while I climbed back up and dropped the hatch. He'd be safe there. Grabbing my coat on the way, I rode the lift and hailed a taxi. The SUV was already at the scene and we didn't need another vehicle.

Telling the driver to skirt the city centre, we drove through Splott and Adamstown to Newport Road and the Cardiff Royal Infirmary. It was slated for closure soon and I understood why. It had been built in 1837, the same year Victoria came to the throne, and was totally unsuitable for modern medicine. There were miles of corridors and inconveniently sized and shaped rooms which had been knocked about until they were barely fit for purpose. The taxi dropped me at the main entrance but I walked round to the side, where I saw the SUV neatly parked, and let myself in; I know a lot of security codes. Striding through A&E I waved at Alan, the security guard, who knew me well. I decided to use the stairs and sprinted up, two at a time, until I reached the top which had been sealed off with hazard tape and opaque plastic. Stepping through I heard voices and followed them into a side room where Owen was squaring up to a small, tubby guy in a lab coat. Toshiko was standing to one side of Owen and they both had their backs to me.

"Right," I said loudly, clapping my hands together, "what's going on here?"

"Tell this fuck-wit to let us do our job!" responded Owen immediately, turning away from the tubby guy in disgust.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" the man demanded, drawing himself up to his full five foot three in height. He looked pathetic.

I stepped close, very close, until I towered above him and looked down on his bald pate. He had an laminated ID hanging round his neck which gave his name as Mr Trevor Barnes. "I am Captain Jack Harkness and we are Torchwood. Now, Trevor, I am going to ask you very nicely to step aside. This is nothing to do with you. If I have to ask again I won't be so nice. Understand me, Trevor?"

"I can't do that," he blustered. He edged backwards but I went with him, staying in his personal space. "I can't let you take a patient."

"That is not a patient. It's a Weevil. An alien. If you get too close, it'll tear your throat out." I put my hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. "And if you carry on preventing us doing our job, I might do the same. Now, get out of our way."

He wavered even now, weighing the choice before him, but I could see he was going to agree from the fear in his eyes. "Very well. But I warn you, I shall be reporting this to Mrs Adams." He puffed out his chest and squeezed past me, hurrying out of a side door.

"Give my love to Grace," I called after him.

"Jack, quick!" Owen yelled. He was leaving the room by the door I'd used, with Toshiko on his heels.

Out in the corridor I found the mess we'd been trying so hard to prevent. The Weevil had managed to get into the corridor where it had bitten into the neck of a hospital employee. A porter I think. He was lying on the floor, obviously dead, and blood was sprayed up the wall and pooling around him. Standing transfixed in front of the Weevil and about to be its second victim was the bolshie policewoman I'd been thinking about on and off for the past week. Was she stalking me?

"Get it sedated," I ordered. Taking the policewoman's arm, I propelled her out of the area at a run. "Go, go, go!" I encouraged. I saw her to the stairs then stopped as she continued down to the bottom.

Back in the sealed off area I stopped to take in the scene. Blood was everywhere. The Weevil was lying on its side, hooded with Owen putting on the manacles. Toshiko was rifling the porter's pockets for identification. "We'll need a body bag for this one," she said, standing with a wallet, ID card and long key chain in her hands.

"I'll get it, they're kept in here." Owen opened a door, disappeared for a few seconds and come back with one of the standard thick black bags used by coroners everywhere.

In less than five minutes Owen had the body in the bag and onto the lift. I picked up the Weevil and put it over my shoulder. As we rode down to the ground floor, Toshiko rang the porter's desk and, pretending to be a matron, ordered one of them to clean up the blood in the corridor. When the lift doors opened, she led the way fending off enquiries while Owen and I carried the Weevil and the porter's body. Luckily Alan was still there and he stopped an officious receptionist who would have challenged us. With the Weevil and the body in the boot of the SUV, I jumped behind the wheel and took off past the main entrance where, would you believe it, the policewoman was standing. I nearly knocked her down. Definitely a stalker, but that could be a good thing …

Toshiko, who was in her normal place in the back, was working the computers. "The porter is Jimmy Johnson. I'm changing the work rota so it looks like he wasn't working today. Want a witness to confirm?"

"Yeah. That'll buy us some time to work up a full cover." I was pulling away from a junction, easing through the early afternoon traffic and saw a busy restaurant which reminded me it was lunchtime. "Order some lunch, Owen." He was sitting in the front passenger seat but didn't acknowledge me, staring into the wing mirror. "Owen?"

"We're being followed. A cop car." He glanced at the speedometer. "And you're not even speeding. For once."

I couldn't go any faster, there was too much traffic around. I looked in the rearview mirror and got a glimpse of the driver of the police car and, yep, it was my stalker. An idea formed and I turned left instead of right, taking the less busy dual carriageway around the city.

"What are you doing?" asked Toshiko who'd noticed the diversion.

"Want to see how keen she is to find out where we're going." I was able to put my foot down now and she was keeping pace, always a car or two between us.

"She? Sounds like you know her." Owen can put a lot of accusation into a tone of voice. "Not the friend with the kid, is it? Wants you for child support, does she?" He was sniggering now.

"You met her same time I did, when we used the Glove on Rani Ghosh." I kept my voice reasonable, not rising to his bait. "Her name is Gwen Cooper, police officer number 159. I'm thinking of asking her to join us." That took the wind out of his sails.

"What? A copper?"

"Why not? We need an investigator and she should be able to deal with the victims' families, which none of us can." I waited but they didn't disagree. "Plus, who better to liaise with the police and all the other bureaucrats?"

"I don't know." Owen sounded less than happy but it wasn't his decision. I'd consult him and Toshiko but the final choice was mine.

From behind us, Toshiko spoke up. "Gwen Elizabeth Cooper, born 1978 so she's twenty nine. Cardiff University and after a couple of years joined the police." She paused, evidently reading the information she'd called up on the screen. "Good service record and a couple of commendations."

"But a copper?" protested Owen, still hung up on this one point.

"What's wrong with that?" I demanded, circling right along Cardiff's streets and heading back to the Bay. "Owen, we need a full team. She looks promising and if she's as good as it looks she might be I'm taking her. Unless you want to be our police liaison forever?"

"She'd have been dealing with that consultant today," put in Toshiko. She said no more but I caught the inference that Owen had made a hash of it and that Gwen would have done better. Seems he did too.

"Yeah, all right, I know I fucked up. But old Barnes was a pig to work for when I did my surgery rotation." He paused then went on, "How you going to decide if she's up to it?"

While it was my decision whether to hire her, I was relieved that he coming round. The team had gone through enough trauma lately. First with the unconventional arrival of Ianto, who had carved out his own role and made himself indispensable, and second with the loss of Suzie. Employing Gwen would impact on Owen and Toshiko most as she'd be going on operations with us and their lives could, quite literally, be in her hands. It was important she fit in. One thing was in Gwen's favour – she was a woman. I hadn't forgotten Duncan Strachan's warning that Toshiko feared being isolated within the team and had suggested employing another woman. Gwen would get a fair shake from Toshiko for that reason alone although, now she and Owen were dating – at least I thought that's what they doing – there should be less difficulties on that score.

"Let's see how good an investigator she really is," I said with a smile. "I'll drive up in front of the Millennium Centre. Tosh and I'll use the lift down into the Hub while you drive the SUV round to the garage."

"Nice one," agreed Owen with a grin. "You disappear and she's left wondering where you've gone."

"That's the plan. But if she decides to follow you, make sure you lose her before parking."

"Soon as I'm at my desk, I'll track her movements," volunteered Toshiko. "Want me to do a full background check?"

"Already done." I had run one shortly after our first meeting. "But you could give Ianto a call and see how he's doing. I'd like him to be in on this."

"Okay."

I was in the Bay now and turned up Bute Street then into Bute Place before trundling into the pedestrianised area and coming to a halt by the water tower. Toshiko and I got out and walked to the lift while Owen scooted into the driver's seat and took off.

What would our pursuer do?


	82. Chapter 82

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Two

Toshiko and I walked to the lift as the police car stopped and the driver, Gwen Cooper, got out.

"Oy, you lot. Torchwood!" she shouted after us.

Geoff, my friendly security guard at the Millennium Centre, was at his officious best and came across to move her on, a timely distraction. We were on the lift now, standing on the stone watching events unfold. It was priceless. Gwen turned her gaze back to where we had been and .. she couldn't see us. She looked all around the Oval Basin trying to work out where we'd gone, scanning the cafés and shops for sight of us.

Toshiko nudged my arm. "Let's go inside. I need to get the programs running so I can track her."

"Okay." Using my wrist strap controls, I started the lift moving. "She doesn't look like she's going to give up," I said with a touch of pride as we travelled down into the Hub.

"We'll see. Spending a few minutes looking round up there doesn't prove much." We'd reached the bottom and Toshiko jumped off, striding away to her desk. "You'd better go and help Owen."

"Yes, ma'am." She was very bossy all of a sudden.

I dumped my coat and walked through the tunnel to the garage, wedging the door open. Screeching tyres told me Owen was on his way – he flings the SUV around like it was a sports car, one day it'll tip over – and seconds later the car appeared. He drew up with a flourish.

"Do you have to drive so fast?" I asked, opening the boot.

"Huh! I drive like a little old lady compared to you." He slammed the door and joined me at the back of the car. "So? What did she do?"

"Looked all around for us." I grinned. I still find it amusing to stand on the lift and watch people go by without a clue I'm there. Once, a couple had been making out against the railing right next to me. I suppose all of us have a hankering to be invisible every now and again and I get to do it whenever I like. "She looks determined."

"Or bloody minded. Which one you taking?" He nodded towards the two bodies – one dead, one unconscious – in the boot.

"Whoa, think you can carry the Weevil?!" Owen was tough and wiry and while he could manage most things, he had trouble hefting large Weevils around. Not long after he'd joined he'd been showing off – for Suzie's sake – and almost had a coronary getting one down to the cells. Normally he was sensible and carried the lighter bodies but seems he was getting cocky again. "Go on then."

I stood back and watched as he pulled at the Weevil's jumpsuit, getting it to the lip of the boot. Next he manoeuvred it into a sitting position and ducked down to get it on his shoulder in a fireman's lift. He stood up and his knees almost buckled under the weight. Struggling mightily – this was a big Weevil – he managed to stand upright and take a couple of paces away from the SUV. Then, in graceful slow-motion, the Weevil slid backwards and dropped like a brick on the floor. Owen had not got under its centre of gravity and had had no chance of carrying it any distance. I was laughing so much I almost dropped the body of the porter that I had picked out of the SUV.

"Oh very funny!" Owen growled, kicking the Weevil.

"Don't take it out on him!" I protested, still laughing. "I'll leave you to it."

With that I went into the Hub. Owen would have great difficulty lifting a prone Weevil, if he managed it at all, and I wanted to see what he'd do next. I took the body into the medical bay and put it in a drawer. We might be able to use this one, if Owen could disguise the wounds, so we needed to keep it reasonably fresh. Coming back into the work area, I heard Toshiko talking on her mobile. She sounded exasperated.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

Holding the phone away from her, she rolled her eyes. "It's Ianto. They're at Store It, says it's going to take another four hours before he's finished. Here, you talk to him." She put the call on speaker.

"What's the problem, Ianto?"

"_No problem, sir. As I was telling Tosh, the few pieces of furniture are in but the boxes and other items will take some time to get straight. I tried to mark them all up but they need checking then sealing. And I need to sort them -"_

"Ianto," I interrupted, "you're not archiving the stuff! Just dump the boxes as they come off the van, and seal the unit."

There was a pause - a huffy pause - I'd offended him. "_There's nothing wrong with putting things tidily, sir. Perhaps you should try it occasionally. Sir."_ The more he said 'sir' the more huffy he sounded.

"I need you back here, Ianto."

"_What is this time, sir? Sex or coffee? That's all you ever need me for." _Now he was getting sulky.

"I'd love both but not right now, thanks. We're about to discuss a new team member, who's by the water tower right now," Toshiko had the CCTV up on one of her screens, "and I want your input. Unless you're not interested in who you're going to be working with."

"_Oh."_

"So what's your answer?" I grinned at Toshiko.

"_We'll just … dump the rest of the stuff. I'll be back in about three quarters of an hour, sir." _

"Good, we'll see you then."

Toshiko ended the call and placed the mobile back on her desk. "He doesn't know how to be untidy, does he?" She ignored the crack about sex and coffee but I couldn't. Did Ianto really believe that was all I wanted from him?

"Not a clue. Bet he's planning to go back another day and sort it out." Noises from the garage entrance made me look that way. I had to wait a few seconds but then the door edged open and Owen appeared, walking slowly backwards and dragging the Weevil by the arms. "Good of you to join us," I called.

"Sod off." He pulled the Weevil fully through the door then let go; its head hit the floor with a thud. "Teaboy can take it downstairs."

"Ianto's not here so you take it down yourself. When's lunch due?"

"How the hell should I know?" He was standing, hands on hips looking at us and breathing heavily.

"I distinctly remember asking you to order it." I had, I was sure. We had been in the SUV at the time, leaving the hospital.

Toshiko the peacemaker, stepped in. "You did, Jack, but then we got talking about this policewoman. I'll order it."

"Got a better idea," put in Owen, stomping up the steps. "I'll order and you, Harkness, can take that … thing down to the cells."

I considered refusing, after all I am the boss, but if we left it much longer the sedative would wear off and the Weevil would be rampaging through the Hub. Besides, I'd had my fun and would be able to tease Owen about this for days to come. "All right, I'll help you out - this time!"

Making light of the Weevil's weight, I lifted it onto my shoulder and went down to the cells. I put this one in a different block to Janet, the resident Weevil, and when all was secure I took a moment to look around. The place looked and smelt so much cleaner than it had before Ianto had arrived. His obsessive neatness and cleanliness had transformed the place, in fact it had transformed the whole Hub. Maybe we didn't appreciate it enough. Or tell him often enough. I resolved to do so at the first opportunity.

I strolled back to the work area. Toshiko was at her desk and looked over at me as I approached. "She's gone."

"Where?" I was disappointed, I hadn't expected PC Cooper to give up so easily.

"Back to the city. She's parked up, sitting in the car. She reported in, told them about the porter being killed but no one believes her." Toshiko sounded just a bit smug, knowing if she hadn't acted fast and started on the cover up when she did the records might have confirmed the policewoman's story.

The picture on the screen confirmed all Toshiko said, a lone woman sitting in a police car in an almost empty car park in the rain. We couldn't see her expression but I bet it was angry. As I watched a very wet policeman plodded up and got into the car. It was the tall lanky fellow I'd seen her with before.

"Andy Davidson, officer number 186," said Toshiko. "Cooper's partner. They've been working together for four years."

"Keep an eye on them. I want to know what they do." I walked to the medical bay where Owen was standing checking some equipment. "Owen, you order the lunch?" It was almost three o'clock and I was hungry.

"Yeah. Pizzas. They'll be here in about forty minutes." He turned and looked up at me. "Got the tox results."

"And?"

"Pisn'ioc. No doubt about it."

"Damn."

I had been half-expecting this result but was still surprised. It wasn't hard to imagine the chaos the creature must be causing in the sewers, attacking Weevils for sex or whatever reason. And that chaos wouldn't stay confined, the mayhem was bound to spill out onto the streets as Weevils came up to the surface either to escape or for more room in which to fight. It would be the devil's own job for us to contain it. The answer was probably to take out the Pisn'ioc but tracing it would take time and our resources were already stretched thin. And this was assuming there was only the one Pisn'ioc. If there was a group of them, it could get very sticky indeed.

"Bummer, huh?" commented Owen, serious for once.

"Yeah. I need to know more about how the Weevils will react. Fight or flight? And how do we overpower a Pisn'ioc? Get working on it. I don't want Cardiff caught in the middle of a war."

"We don't know have that much info."

"Best guess then. Just give me something, Owen." I turned back into the work area.

Toshiko turned when she heard me. "They're back. Cooper and Davidson are above us." The CCTV showed the pair of them standing by the water tower, in the rain. PC Davidson looked miserable while WPC Cooper was prowling around, a determined scowl on her face. "Can't pick up what they're saying, but Davidson called the hospital and got confirmation that all the employees are accounted for." The smug tone was back in her voice.

"She's not giving up," I mused, pleased my gut instinct was proving correct.

"No. Temple, the station officer, is pretty mad with her for making the accusations. He's the one having to field calls from the hospital authorities who are pissed off by the whole thing."

"Yet still she persists." I moved towards the office. "Keep watching them. How're your searches on the Weevils and Pisn'ioc coming along? We need to get on top of that soon as."

"They're complete. I'll look through them, see what they can tell us."

"Good. We'll pool information when Ianto's back. Heard any more from him?"

"No." She smiled. "But he said forty five minutes and so he should be here very soon." Not only was obsessively tidy, he was also extremely punctual.

The 1995 Pisn'ioc file was on my desk and I settled down to read it again. Kris Svensson had spent two days tracking the family from the site of the Rift opening. It had been a quiet time, and Kris was persistent, otherwise he'd never have found them. They'd travelled from Mynachdy towards Blackweir and taken cover in a bank of the Taff, digging out a half-submerged hole under an overhanging willow. The adult Pisn'ioc had been injured by the Rift and did not put up a fight; the two youngsters found with them had been comatose. A couple of days in the cells with decent food and care had revived them enough to make it safe to send them back. And I had imagined that would be the last I'd see of them.

"Pizza's here," said Toshiko, putting her head round the door. "And Cooper and Davidson have gone back to the station."

"Thanks." I got up and followed her into the work area. "God, I'm hungry."

"Here's some coffee," said Ianto, placing the tray on the table. He turned and walked away. He was seriously pissed if he was not going to eat with us.

"Where you going?" I called, taking the pizza box Owen handed me.

"To get Eddy. He's been on his own all morning." Ianto smiled then, a small one but enough to reassure me that he wasn't mad.

"No, I had him up here. With me." I stuck the box down again – would I ever get to eat? – and went back to the office and lifted the hatch. "Eddy, come out, come out wherever you are."

"What's he doing in your quarters?" Ianto had followed me into the office and was standing beside me as I swung down the ladder.

"Had to put him somewhere safe." I looked round the place I called home. It was untidier than I remembered, with my book on the floor and the Guinness ashtray where I kept small change overturned. Eddy had been exploring. Good job there wasn't much he could damage, my stuff was mainly stored in the cupboards. I couldn't see the little Eddykk and wondered if I'd been wise to put him in here when a flash of green caught my eye and Eddy peeped out from behind the Quality Street tin where I keep my cufflinks. "There you are." Catching him before he could start climbing the walls, I went back up the ladder, Eddy on my shoulder.

Ianto took him from me before I got off the ladder. "It could have been dangerous for him down there," he complained, checking Eddy over.

"He's fine."

I grabbed my pizza and started eating. Toshiko and Owen were cosy on the sofa so I sat at her desk. Ianto was on his knees at the coffee table overseeing Eddy and a container of mashed up sardines and lettuce while absently eating a slice of pizza. We used the time to update Ianto on what had happened that morning and in particular on WPC Gwen Cooper. Toshiko had done a further background check on her despite me saying it wasn't necessary – I suppose she wanted to know all she could about a possible colleague – and went into considerable detail about Gwen's police career and training. Owen's eyes glazed over first but I wasn't far behind him. I don't think Ianto was listening either, too busy making sure Eddy ate his food without creating a mess.

"I get the picture, Tosh," said Owen eventually, cutting into the recitation of facts. "She's just what we're looking for. A paragon! But that doesn't mean she'll fit in. We'll only know that once we get a chance to meet her." He took another slice of pizza. "How you going to arrange that?" he asked me.

"I'm hoping she'll come to us. From all I've learnt about her, and what Tosh has found out, I don't think she'll let this morning's events rest. For now, we wait." I looked at Ianto. "Flat sorted now, Ianto?"

He looked up. "Uh-huh. I didn't find the missing Retcon. And there was nothing in Suzie's papers about family or … anything really. Just the normal stuff."

"Thanks for looking after that."

"Yeah, especially in your condition." Owen grinned at him, half a slice of pizza in his hand. "How's the hangover?" I'd forgotten until now but this was the first time they'd met today. "And the lips? Bet they're a bit dry, all the exercise they got last night."

"What?" Ianto looked at Toshiko and then me before looking back at Owen. "What are you talking about?"

"You, snogging all the girls in the bar. You really let your hair down, teaboy." Owen was chortling, there was other way of describing the sound he was making.

"I … I didn't, did I?" The horror was clear in his face. "Jack?"

"'Cause you didn't." I sent Owen a warning glance but he took no notice.

"Oh come on! He had his tongue so far down that redhead's throat he must have licked her tonsils."

"Ianto, you kissed one girl, that's all," said Toshiko, sitting forward and putting a hand on his. "And it wasn't anything very special. You were more serious when you kissed Jack."

Ianto's mouth fell open. "I kissed Jack? In public?"

"And I enjoyed it very much. Don't let Owen get to you, he's done a lot worse."

That set Toshiko off. She gleefully told Ianto all about having to cover for a drunk and AWOL Owen when the Slitheen had crashed a spaceship into the Thames in London. Her tale of examining the space pig when she had little idea what she was doing had us all laughing, even Owen. It was a good way to end the meal.

While Ianto started clearing up, Toshiko went back to her desk. "Cooper's gone home. She got a bump on the head, that's why she was at the hospital, so I guess they think her dead porter is related."

"She'll be back," I said confidently. "But now, we need to go over what we have on the Pisn'ioc and the Weevils. Boardroom in ten. All of you."


	83. Chapter 83

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Three

I was first in the Board Room and took my usual seat at the head of the table. I had the file of the last Pisn'ioc encounter with me and scanned it once more for any hints about how to deal with them. Ianto was next to arrive. He put Eddy's carry case on a side table then sat next to me. This was my opportunity for a quiet word.

"Ianto, about earlier." I closed the file and put it on the table.

"I know, sir, I was wrong," he answered before I got to say my piece. "I was spending too much time on clearing the flat. I'm sorry."

"That wasn't what I was going to say. Do you really think all I want from you is sex and coffee?"

He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again and gave a little chuckle. "No, not all the time. Sometimes you want a file."

Reaching over and putting a hand on his arm, I met and held his gaze. "I don't think you realise how vital you are to this team. Since you arrived we never have to search for equipment, struggle to find a clean cell or wade through piles of rubbish. When I took you on, I just wanted the archives reorganised but you do so much more. We couldn't manage without you. I couldn't manage and I appreciate all you do." I had been serious up to now, trying to make him believe me, but now I grinned. "The sex and even the coffee is a bonus.

He looked at me through narrowed eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't tell you often enough and you don't see it. Even now, you don't believe me, do you?"

"Well … I don't do that much." I sighed. What was I going to do with the boy? What would make him realise how valuable he was to the team?

"Believe me, you do." I gestured to the file before us. "It took me a couple of minutes to find this. Before you arrived it would have taken hours! Hours that I can now use dealing with the situation."

He looked horror-struck. "You've been in the archives?"

"Yes. And I signed the log, don't fret." I squeezed his arm. "You're knocking us into shape. Even Owen put some rubbish in the bin the other day."

"What was that? Talking about me again?" Owen and Toshiko entered the room and sat side by side opposite Ianto.

I ignored the comment, sat back and opened the file. Time to let Ianto think about what I'd said and to get on with the meeting. "Okay, subject under discussion is the Weevils, specifically the three sick ones we found yesterday. Some of their wounds were unusual. Owen's run some tests and from the pattern of the wounds and the biological residue around them -"

"DNA," corrected Owen.

"DNA," I continued, "we know they were caused by a Pisn'ioc. Tosh, have you got a picture?"

"Sure." She tapped at a keyboard to bring up a photograph on the plasma screen. "This was taken in 1979 by Torchwood One."

"That looks nasty," commented Ianto who was seeing it for the first time. "Are those claws?" He peered at the upper appendages.

"Torchwood One called them incisors and we've stuck with that." She changed the screen to show a close up of the claws. "The one on the left is the stronger, more dominant of the two and the larger. Both are used for protection, the lower arms are for all other functions. Pisn'ioc are crustaceans and have a hard shell over most of their body as you can see."

"They don't come through the Rift often, the last time was back in 1995," I said, bringing Ianto up to speed. "It was a family of two adults and two youngsters. They were traumatised by the Rift but managed to hole up in the Taff. They live in or near water. Once we'd traced and recovered them – took us two days - and they were strong enough, they were sent back through the Rift. At the time, we thought we'd got the lot but one theory is a youngster was left behind – they normally have three in a litter – which is now all grown up. Tosh, you were looking into that."

"I've scanned all recorded Rift openings and other arrivals since 1990 and only the one in 1995 was Pisn'ioc." She looked around at us. "I think it's safe to assume that the one we're looking for came through at that time."

"Which makes it twelve of our years' old and an adult," put in Owen. He flicked through his papers. "Bloke at the time, Svensson, did a good workup on the captured family. That, and the Torchwood One stuff, gives us a pretty good picture of their life cycle. Tosh, can you bring up that file I sent you?"

"Here it is."

The screen changed and Owen talked us through a series of slides and photographs which showed the Pisn'ioc development from infant to adult. In all, they lived for around twenty of our years, the last ten as adults. "So, as you can see," Owen concluded, "it spends half its life growing up. As an adult it has to fight for a mate, territory and resources and many are killed. Life is short and brutal, few survive to old age, which is twenty."

I summarised the position. "So we assume this one joined up with the Weevils, has been an adult for a couple of years and is sexually active, or wants to be. It needs a mate and is fighting for one. How long's this been going on? Tosh?"

"I've checked all Weevil sightings and studies for the past five years. They were quiet and stayed in the sewers, just the odd rogue coming to the surface, average of one a week, until about six months' ago. Since then there's been a four hundred percent increase." She consulted her notes. "Some we've found have been injured, including one of those in Splott last week. Remember them? They killed those two boys?" It was clear we all remembered the incident, I know I did. It's hard to forget something like that. "Until now, we've always put the injuries down to other Weevils."

"Never been a reason to think otherwise," interjected Owen.

"No one's saying there was," I agreed. I didn't want Owen blaming himself for not picking this up before. "The thing we have to decide now is how to contain the problem. I do not want a war in the sewers spilling out into the city. Ideas? Suggestions?"

Owen spoke first. "We don't know much about Weevils even though they've been around so long. My best guess is that having adopted it – and they're daft enough to do that - they've put up with its behaviour so far. They'll fight back eventually. As they live in groups and are telepathic, a bit anyway, an injury to one is communicated to the rest."

"So they've been coming to the surface to escape or were forced out," I mused. "Can't be ready to confront the cuckoo in the nest yet."

After being silent though the explanations, Ianto spoke up. "Could just one Pisn'ioc cause all this trouble? I thought there were hundreds of Weevils. Why don't they overpower it?"

"Too soft." Owen's tone was dismissive. "They live together peacefully most of the time, only a few get riled and attack. And then they don't usually cause much damage to one another."

"They think this … Pisn'ioc is one of them?"

"Probably. Weevils aren't the smartest kids on the block."

"But Pisn'ioc aren't telepathic," pointed out Toshiko. "That should set this one apart even more that its appearance."

"Good point. That would confuse the Weevils," I agreed. "They'd not know how to deal with what they think of as one of their own but which doesn't react as they expect."

Owen had his hands out in a calming motion. "Hold up there. Don't go blowing this telepathic thing out of proportion. It's more like empathy. They share feelings, no more."

"But it makes the Pisn'ioc different. Tosh, any way of tracing it?"

She didn't look encouraging. "Only by scanning for their unique physiology which won't be easy. It could be anywhere in the city sewers and you know how extensive they are. And we only have short range scanners, five hundred metres at best. I may be able to extend that given a bit of time." She didn't sound very sure. "As for searching, we should start around Pengam, where we found the sick Weevils, but it'll be a long job. The Pisn'ioc isn't going to stay still for us."

"What do we do with it when we find it?" asked Ianto. He was eying the picture that was back on the screen, no doubt thinking about having to look after it in the cells.

"May have an idea about that," put in Owen, "but I want to think it through a bit first. Run a few scenarios. Give me a few hours, Jack."

"Okay, you both have the rest of today." We had the time as there wasn't any immediate danger to the city. "As always, I'd like to keep it alive if we can." Owen nodded. "Before we go, what's our policewoman up to, Tosh?"

"I'll just check." She used the keyboard to access the CCTV, fingers flying. "She's on a bus. Left home – that's in Riverside, by the way – and is heading … this way, I think."

"So she's coming back." I was pleased that WPC Cooper was not giving up. "Let's see if she can work out how to find us."

"You think she will, don't you?" said Ianto, watching me closely.

"Ianto, she's got this far. If she's a decent copper she should be able to work out the rest. When – or if, if you prefer – she does, you'll all get your chance to look her over."

"Wouldn't mind that," mused Owen. "She's tasty."

Toshiko shot him a glance then concentrated on her keyboard. I couldn't believe it. I'd finally got the pair of them together and Owen was eying up another woman! I was going to have to have words with him.

"Yeah, not bad," agreed Ianto enthusiastically. "Good figure."

Now he was doing it! I'd noticed the woman was attractive myself, of course I had, I am a man, but even I hadn't said so. I determined not to now. But it made me wonder if bringing her onto the team was such a good idea. The last thing I wanted was to make Toshiko unhappy. Or me.

"One more thing," I said. "We're still getting ordnance through the Rift, that's what it was yesterday, so be very careful with anything you find."

The meeting drew to a close and Toshiko packed up her papers and left. Owen didn't help her, just followed her out of the room humming to himself. I was about to leave when Ianto stopped me, a hand on my arm.

"Hang on a minute." He watched the others descend to the work area where they started talking to one another. "Did you hear Owen? We've got to make sure he doesn't hurt Tosh."

"I heard you too." I put the file back down on the table, with a little more force than necessary, I admit, and crossed my arms. "WPC Cooper's got a 'good figure', has she?"

"Oh my God, you're jealous." He gave a delighted little laugh that annoyed me. "You twat!" He punched my arm, grinning widely. "I only said that to head off Owen. And to make Tosh feel a bit better."

I was feeling a tad foolish now and managed a sheepish smile. What would The Doctor make of me when he finally arrived? The brave, brash, love 'em and leave 'em Jack Harkness had turned into a seriously soppy individual who was stuck on this one man. He'd probably laugh like a drain. No more dancing with him! "I knew that," I blustered, "but how does it make Tosh feel better to know you fancy Cooper too?"

"Obvious. If we all think she's attractive, Tosh can see it doesn't mean anything. She sizes up men all the time but doesn't expect to bed them."

"She does? So it's okay for me to say I fancy Gwen too."

"No, it isn't!" He hit me again.

"Oh, it's one rule for you and another for me, huh?!" I was teasing but it was unfair. Why should he get to drool over the attractive brunette when I didn't?

"I won't pursue her, you might. And didn't you say we were dating? That means exclusive in my book."

"You people and your strange ways," I sighed. But the confident smile on his face confirmed he understood I'd not be straying. I really didn't want to, not even with the fit Gwen Cooper. I looked at other men and women, I flirted with them too, but I didn't want anyone else.

He had Eddy's carry case in his hand now. The little creature was standing at the grill looking out hopefully. "I'm going to clear this place up. A few hours away and it reverts to a tip."

"Leave it for now. You haven't told me how you got on with Brendan." I stuck a finger through the grill and stroked Eddy who chirruped happily.

"Haven't you got things to do?"

"I'll catch up tonight." I moved in closer, putting my hands on his hips under the suit jacket and finding his arse. "I haven't seen you for ages." I kissed him gently and his lips pressed against mine.

"Not here." He pushed me away gently, glancing through the glass walls towards the work area where Toshiko and Owen were standing talking. They looked serious and I hoped it wasn't trouble in paradise. "If they look up …"

"Then where?"

"I'll take Eddy back to the playroom. You come down in five minutes. Okay?" He grinned shyly but the look in his eye promised more than a romp with the Eddykk.

"I'll be there. Off you go." I opened the door and pinched his bum as he passed through. He went off along the walkway and then down the far steps while I used the spiral staircase and crossed the lower level, making plenty of noise so the others would know I was coming. They were sitting at their desks now, turned to face one another, and looked up when I climbed the steps. There was tension in the air.

"You … going to your office?" asked Owen.

"Uh … yeah." I paused and glanced from him to her and back again. "Why?"

"No reason."

I waited but neither of them said any more; Toshiko was fiddling with her pens and Owen was staring at his feet. With a shrug, I continued on my way and sat behind the desk. I had a few minutes to kill and made a show of reading the papers on my desk. Outside, Toshiko and Owen had their heads together and were whispering. Closing my eyes I listened hard and could just hear them. I had to smile. They were trying to arrange a quickie somewhere in the base! The tension I'd felt wasn't unease, it was sexual frustration. I took pity on them and, anyway, it was time to go find Ianto.

I walked out to the work area and put a hand on each of their shoulders, leaning in to join their huddled conference. "Changed my mind, I'm going downstairs. And my choice would be the Board Room. Either the table or the floor; only place with carpet." I grinned, patted their backs and walked off down the slope by the water tower turning before I reached the armoury. "An hour long enough?"

"More than enough." Owen grinned but Toshiko couldn't meet my gaze, ducking her head in embarrassment.

I continued on to the playroom and was still chuckling when I entered. Ianto was there, jacket off and sleeves rolled up splashing Eddy who was swimming in the paddling pool. We stayed there for five minutes or so, me telling him all about Toshiko and Owen, before we took Eddy and repaired to Ianto's room. Leaving Eddy to his own devices, I proceeded to have my wicked way with the gorgeous Welshman. Then he had his way with me and was even more wicked; he's getting very inventive. Picking ourselves up off the cold, hard floor – ought to get some carpet in here too - we got into bed, snuggling under the duvet. Lying with my head on his stomach, I listened as he told all about his day and I told him about mine and we speculated about what the others were doing. It was all very domestic and, in my sated state, very enjoyable. We stayed down there an hour and a half all told.

After cleaning up and debating what to do about Eddy – we decided to leave him where he was, on the ceiling of Ianto's room - it was nearly seven when we finally went up to the work area. The others were in the medical bay debating how to locate and deal with the Pisn'ioc, standing close. Toshiko was positively glowing. For once, we were all satisfied at the same time. Maybe I should suggest a foursome …

"She's still up there," said Toshiko with a smile. "Two hours now."

"Who?" asked Ianto, confused.

"The copper, who else," replied Owen, tapping his pen against his teeth. "Bet she doesn't work it out."

"How much?" I leant on the railing, looking down on them. "Twenty quid?"

"You're on." Owen grinned. "She has to make it in here before midnight."

"Done. Anyone else?" Neither of them took me up – wusses!

* * *

_Just wanted to say thanks once again to all of you who are reading this story. I really appreciate it - Jay_


	84. Chapter 84

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Four

I won my twenty quid.

At seven thirty Owen started crowing as WPC Gwen Cooper, after hanging around the water tower for two and half hours, suddenly took off. We located her again at Jubilee Pizza and watched when she emerged from there with two large pizza boxes and circled round into the Plass. It was my turn to crow when she walked determinedly towards the Tourist Office.

"Ianto, up you go," I urged, taking his beer bottle and pushing him towards the cog door. "Don't explain or say any more than you have to, just send her down here." He trotted off obediently. "Right, you two stay here. I'm going up to the Boardroom for a better view. Just ignore her when she comes in."

"She's walking past the cruise boats," reported Toshiko.

"Good. Remember, stay cool."

I sprinted past the pool, up the steps to the Boardroom and activated the plasma screen, bringing up the feed from the outside CCTV. The trim figure in black trousers and jacket was approaching the Tourist Office and, after a momentary hesitation, opened the door. I switched cameras and watched her enter and talk to Ianto wishing I could hear what they were saying. A few moments later, she was in the tunnel and then coming down in the lift. I admired her once more; it was pretty daunting to come in that way but she just kept walking. And then she was at the cog door, still carrying those pizza boxes. This was my cue and I made sure she was looking round before leaving the Boardroom, strolling along nonchalantly with my hands in my pockets and looking anywhere but at her. She stayed put and was still just inside the door when I came down the steps at the rear of the work area and walked past Toshiko and Owen who were sitting at their desks pretending to work. Thankfully they didn't look up or I'd have lost it. As it was, I made it to the office and got behind the desk without a word being spoken. Under the pretence of reading some papers, I peered out of the corner of my eye as WPC Cooper climbed the steps and stood behind Toshiko and then … Owen blew it! He giggled which started Toshiko off.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry. I'm rubbish. I give up," he spluttered, swinging round in his chair.

"He set me off," accused Toshiko, pointing to him.

"Well that lasted all of two seconds," I said, shaking my head and walking back into the work area.

"Hmm, she's actually carrying pizza." That was Owen, and the smell was delicious.

The policewoman spoke, in a rich deep voice with a gorgeous Welsh accent. "There's your pizza. I think I'd better go."

Time to get serious. "I think we're past that stage," I told her.

"You must have been freezing out there," put in Toshiko. "You were walking around for three hours."

"You could see me?" asked Cooper. She didn't seem unduly alarmed at being in a hi-tech underground base with three strangers. Her eyes were constantly moving, scanning the area and us, assessing the risk. Her reactions so far were very encouraging. If she came through the next test, I wanted her on the team.

"And before we go any further," I said, deciding to address the issue while I thought of it, "who the hell orders pizza under the name Torchwood?" I was looking straight at Owen, the only one dumb enough.

"Uh, yeah, that would be me," he admitted. "Sorry, I'm a twat." He would be sorry when he had to give Retcon to the staff of the pizza joint.

"That man at the hospital. That porter. What happened to him?" The policewoman again, getting right to the point and not allowing herself to be distracted. Good qualities. "That was real, wasn't it. He was attacked."

"He's dead," I told her. She wasn't horrified or even pleased to be proved right. Excellent.

"But there's no one gone missing."

Toshiko explained. "We took the body, retrospectively changed the work rota, planted a false witness who saw him leave the hospital, giving him an alibi for the next forty eight hours. When his body's pulled out of the docks on Wednesday night he's only been missing for three days." She made it sound so simple and so logical.

"He was murdered." Cooper wasn't going to let it go.

"Yeah."

"And you covered it up."

"It's my job." Toshiko shrugged as if it was nothing. Nearly three years working here had hardened her; she hadn't been that blasé when she'd started.

"Who are you?" Gwen Cooper was looking round at all of us and I chose to answer.

"Torchwood."

"What's Torchwood?"

"This is Torchwood. All around you." I waved my arm to indicate the others and the base. I liked her line of questioning, to the point and not flinching from the answers.

"And what happens to me? I'm police. Constable Gwen Cooper." Did she really think we'd have let her in if we didn't know that already? That was a little disappointing but her questions showed she realised how vulnerable she was. "You can't do anything." Of course we could, we could make her disappear for ever if we wanted to but that was not part of the plan. At the moment.

Time to see how she reacted to the next test. "Right then, PC Cooper. Do you want to come see?"

"See what?"

"You saw the murder … come see the murderer." I walked down the steps past the water tower.

"Go with him," urged Owen when she didn't move.

She hesitated then placed the pizza boxes – they must have been burning her arms - on the coffee table with the debris of the evening (beer bottles, magazines, all sorts) and followed me. "What is Torchwood? Who are you? What is this place?" she asked, finally giving in to curiosity. Myfanwy chose that moment to swoop down from her nest to investigate the newcomer. "What was that?!"

"Pterodactyl." Toshiko's bored tones were perfect and I stifled a laugh.

"Are you coming?" I called from the archway.

We didn't talk as I led her through the tunnels to the cells. It had been Owen's suggestion to take her to see a Weevil; there was no better way of seeing how she'd react to an alien than showing her one. However, we decided to use Janet rather than the one we'd captured at the hospital. I took Cooper to the end cell and beckoned her forward. She must have wondered what was going on, if I was going to put her in one of the cells, but she came forward willingly enough.

"It's all right, it's safe," I told her when she could see Janet. "It's called a Weevil, or at least we call them Weevils." I went into a spiel about how many there were and how they lived in the sewers but all the time I was gauging her reaction. It was good. She appeared fascinated by Janet, who was crouched at the rear of the cell, and stared at her. "But its alien," I went on. "Look into its eyes." I pulled over a stool and helped Gwen to sit. "It was born on a different world and it's real."

She sat there, silently watching Janet for five minutes or more. Leaning against the wall behind her, I was more and more convinced that Gwen Cooper was the right fit for the team. She had found her way to us using decent investigative techniques which included finding out my name, had persisted when others had told her to back off, wasn't frightened of us and was calm and collected looking at her first alien. Now all I had to do was persuade her to join.

When we'd been in the cells long enough, I led her back up to the work area where I was pleased to see Ianto had joined the others watching the CCTV feed from the cells. Introductions were in order. "Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper."

"Doctor Owen Harper, thank you." He can be so pedantic.

"Toshiko Sato, computer genius. And this is Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time." I grinned at him, knowing he'd appreciate my understatement after our earlier chat.

"I try my best." The answering grin was so cute.

"And he looks good in a suit." He looked especially gorgeous right then, in a crisp white shirt and deep red tie under a dark suit.

"Careful. That's harassment, sir." His grin got wider.

"But why are you telling me their names?" Gwen was looking around us, obviously concerned. "I'm not supposed to know, am I? This is classified, isn't it?"

"Way beyond classified." I waited to see what she would ask next.

"Then you shouldn't be telling me. What are you going to do to me?"

"What do you imagine?"

"Well I've seen too much. Your names and everything, and the Weevil and … You can dump a man in the docks and lie about his death." For the first time I detected a tremor of fear in her voice.

Now was time for the big sell. I had to make her want to join us. "Okay, Tosh, finish your scanner update tomorrow morning. Owen, we'll talk about your scenarios then too. Ianto, looks like this place could do with tidying up." I slipped my arms into the sleeves of my greatcoat as he held it for me. "As for you, Gwen Cooper, you're coming with me. This way."

"I'm getting tired of following you," she complained as she walked behind me to the lift.

I turned and met her gaze. "No you're not. And you never will. Stand on here, next to me. You came in the front door. Let's take the scenic route out." I activated the lift and we started up.

She grabbed my arm and held on tight but said nothing. I looked down on Toshiko and Owen who were starting to pack up. Ianto appeared with the ubiquitous black sack and pottered round collecting up the rubbish. With a pang of hunger, I remembered the pizzas Gwen had brought with her and hoped Ianto wouldn't throw them away. The lift continued on remorselessly and the team's figures became very small until we emerged into the Plass and the stone clicked into place.

"But … but they can see the lift," said Gwen, looking round at the few people crossing the open space. It was dark and the lights of the surrounding cafés and shops shone out brightly. "Why aren't they, I mean … We're right out in the open. They can see everything," she spluttered.

"Do they look like they can see?" I asked, gesturing to a couple walking past. Neither even glanced in our direction.

"No, but look at us. We couldn't be more public." She suddenly realised she was still holding my arm and let go hurriedly.

"Hello. You there, hello," I called to a man hurrying towards the bus stop. He didn't stop or look my way. "It's called a perception filter. He can sort of see us but we don't quite register. Just like something out of the corner of your eye. It only works on this exact spot. Step off it …" I suited actions to words. "Hi, nice night," I said to a lone woman who gave me a dirty look and veered away from me. "And lo, we are perceived."

"How does it work?" she asked, joining me. She went on and on about it and I tried to explain but she couldn't or wouldn't understand. Must be a Welsh thing.

We jogged to catch the bus that was approaching and rode it into the city centre. She was quiet during the journey, whether because she had so much to take in or because she didn't want to talk in front of the other passengers, I don't know, but I was grateful. I took a moment to text Ianto, making it clear that I expected him to be waiting for me when I returned and spelling out what I wanted to do with him. His reply came quickly and set me smiling. Who needs anyone else when he's around? We went to a pub that was all bright lights, chrome and glass. I'd have preferred something more traditional but this seemed to suit her. It wasn't very busy and we got stools at the bar. She asked for a pint of Brains, not very ladylike but cheaper than spirits or fancy cocktails, and took a good swig straight off.

She started the conversation, going on about how she hadn't believed aliens were real and came up with a daft idea about drugs in the water to explain away the Daleks and Cybermen and Canary Wharf. She had a lot to learn. "So you catch aliens," she stated, looking at me over the rim of her glass.

"Yup."

"You catch aliens for a living."

"Yes, we do."

"You're an alien catcher."

"Yes, I am." The repartee was fun but I hoped we'd move onto something more substantive soon.

"Caught any good aliens?"

"Tons of them."

"That's a hell of a job," she laughed.

I joined in the laughter. "Sure is. How'd you like to join us?" She had just taken a drink and spluttered before wiping her mouth. "Gotta job going spare. Do you want it?"

"Me?!"

"Why not?" I shrugged and let the question hang.

"I don't even know who you are," she said, playing for time I reckoned. At least she hadn't turned me down flat; she was intrigued or flattered, or both.

"Captain Jack Harkness." I was aware she already knew my name. A police search had been done the day after we'd met and it wasn't hard to figure out she'd been behind the enquiry.

"I did some research," she admitted, "and there's only one Captain Jack Harkness on record and he disappeared in 1941."

"Well, that couldn't be me … could it?" I waited but she didn't say anything.

I went on to explain more about our role, about the technology we scavenge and use to help protect Earth. She wanted to know who we reported to and was perturbed when she realised we were independent of national and international government as well as the police. I suppose she was used to the hierarchy of the police force with layers and layers of management and control; it would be a complete change for her when she joined us. And I was confident she would join us; her eyes were alive and interested and my explanation of the Rift intrigued her. She was less pleased to discover we were not interested in the murders, had only been testing technology – I didn't specify what, didn't want to frighten her away – and was scathing about the way we used the victims and did nothing to help. I thought I might have lost her then but she calmed down and drank some more, sitting in silence as she thought through all I'd told her.

"What does this job entail? What do you need me for?" she asked finally.

"We can go into detail later. I want you because you're right, we can do more to help. I want you on board to make us change, to tell us when we're being callous. What do you think? Do you want to join up?"

She thought about it for just a moment then gave me a brilliant smile, showing the gap between her two front teeth. "Yeah, I do."

I was pleased as Punch, she was going to join. "That's great. Just one thing before we shake on it. Torchwood is a secret organisation which means you can't tell anyone what you do. That means family, friends, your bosses, anyone. Our usual cover is Special Ops."

She thought about this seriously. "I can't even tell Rhys? He's my boyfriend."

"'Fraid not."

She nodded. "I understand, I can do that. He's not the brightest anyway," she joked.

"That's settled then." I stuck out my hand. "Welcome aboard." She took my hand, hers was dry and warm, and we shook.

"My God, I didn't expect this when I went to the hospital this morning!" she said with a laugh.

"What were you doing there?" I downed the last of my water.

"Had a bump on the head, pub fight that got out of hand. I just hope I don't wake up in the morning and find this was all a dream."

"No dream. I'm real enough. Now, we'll need to talk about practicalities – when you can join us, salary, all that stuff. You free tomorrow?" I wanted to get this sewn up as soon as possible, for her sake as well as ours. The longer she had to work with people, especially that partner of hers, the more tempted she'd be to let something slip.

"I'm on lates, start at three."

"Okay. How about you come to the Tourist Office at midday and we go over everything with you?" I planned to have Ianto look out the standard contract and other stuff; he knew about the practicalities. Owen and Toshiko could keep an eye on the Rift and, providing it wasn't active, could meet Gwen again for a more relaxed chat.

"All right." She grinned. "This is amazing, I'm going to be an alien catcher!"

"Just don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, no one would believe me. They'd put it down to that bump on the head!"

We left the pub not long after this and she went off home. As I walked back to the Hub I rang Ianto and told him to monitor Gwen's phone calls and computer, just in case she started telling everyone the news.


	85. Chapter 85

_Just wanted to warn you that there are some rather more adult scenes in this chapter though still T, I think. _

**

* * *

****Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Five

"She wants to join then?" Ianto was standing on the walkway outside the Board Room leaning on the railing. He had his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up. The nice red tie had disappeared completely.

"That she does." I grinned up at him. "What are you doing up there?"

"Cleaning. It's pretty clear where Owen and Tosh wound up." He wrinkled his nose – so cute! – and opened the door to go back in. "I'll be about ten minutes."

Whistling, I went to the office and dumped my greatcoat and Webley. I looked at the desk where a number of folders and odd pieces of paper had accumulated. I'd tackle that later, when Ianto was asleep and I had nothing better to do. The Rift predictor was still quiet and the alerts and police channels reported only normal activity for a Monday evening. We had had almost twenty four hours without a call-out and the respite was very welcome. I hoped it would continue. I looked up as Ianto clattered down the metal stairs, his bucket knocking against the railings.

"All done?" I asked.

"Uh-huh. If they're going to be having sex around the Hub, they can learn to clean up after themselves!" he remarked pointedly before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Is there anything to eat?" I shouted.

His head popped out. "Only the bacon and eggs I was saving for breakfast."

"What happened to the pizzas Gwen brought?" This was too bad, if Ianto had thrown them away I would be very cross.

"Owen and Tosh took them." He disappeared again only to reappear a couple of minutes later. He walked over towards me, hands in his pockets, looking so sexy that I almost forgot about food. "We could go out. It's not that late."

He was right, it was only nine fifteen. "Let's do it." Jumping up from Toshiko's desk, I paused on my way to the office. "This'll be a proper date."

He laughed and shook his head. "Hardly."

I tried to find what he meant by that cryptic comment all the way to Bellini's but he refused to explain. He still hadn't told me when we were seated and studying the menus Liz had left so I made a point of loudly debating the merits of each dish with him. As he hated drawing attention to himself I knew this would annoy him. When Liz returned with a bottle of red wine, we ordered a shared starter of olive ciabatta with main courses of spaghetti with prawns and tomatoes for Ianto and steak for me.

"Here, drink that and tell me about your chat with the policewoman." He poured wine into my glass and smiled. "Though maybe we shouldn't talk about work if this is supposed to be a date."

"There you go again," I protested, ignoring the wine. "What's so funny?"

"Jack, when we go on a date I expect to be romanced. This is just two colleagues having a meal. Okay?" He smiled and clinked his glass against mine.

"I suppose." I sipped the wine, it was excellent. "What am I going to have to do on this date?" I asked cautiously. Romance meant different things to different people and I wasn't sure where we were going with this. I liked, no, loved him but there was so much I had to sort out before there could be any future for us.

"You don't have to make it sound like a test! All I want is a bit of notice, a decent meal and then a club or a movie or … something. I want to ... feel special."

"I can do that. And I'll throw in lots of sex afterwards," I beamed. This dating wasn't so complicated after all.

"That goes without saying, for you anyway." He sipped the wine.

"You like it too." I leant forward. "And get ready because even if this isn't a date, I plan to screw you senseless when we get back. Maybe I won't even wait that long!"

"Jack!" He looked round at the other tables but Liz, knowing me well, had seated us in an alcove where we couldn't be overheard. "Keep talking like that and you won't be doing anything to me tonight!"

Luckily the ciabatta arrived at this point and we were able to concentrate on tearing chunks off and dipping it in the flavoured oil that came with it. I suppose we sat in silence for about five minutes all told, neither looking at the other. For my part, I couldn't see what the problem was other than I'd embarrassed him again. I always seem able to do that.

Deciding someone had to make the first move, I sighed and said, "Sorry."

I was relieved when he looked at me and smiled. "Me too. Now, tell me about Gwen Cooper. Why are we monitoring her phones?"

The evening went much more smoothly from then. I filled him in on my chat and explained about the possible leaks if Gwen decided to tell everyone about my job offer. Then we discussed Owen and Toshiko who, I was pleased to learn, had left together to attend a comedy night at one of the local pubs. But I was most interested to learn that Ianto had spoken to Duncan Strachan – his own initiative, nothing to do with my email to Duncan – and they were going to meet up on Friday. In this spirit of harmony, we munched our way through the meal. Ianto declined a sweet but when my profiteroles arrived he helped himself to one despite my best attempts to stop him.

The night was cool and dry when we emerged from the restaurant around eleven and walked round the Bay, taking our time. Others were doing the same and it felt good to have a moment when we were part of normal life in the city. When Ianto grew chilly and declined my offer to snuggle under my coat with me, we headed back to the base, taking the long way and using the Tourist Office entrance. Ianto went off to make coffee while I double checked the monitors – still nothing – and deposited coat and Webley in the office. Then I texted Owen and Toshiko with the news about Gwen, it was only right they knew too.

"Okay to let Myfanwy out?" asked Ianto. "It's been a while since she had the chance to really stretch her wings." He gave me a mug of coffee.

"Sure." I sat on the sofa and got comfortable, feet up on the table in front, and relaxed.

Ianto opened the roof exit and stood by the pool, waiting for Myfanwy to leave. He looked quite small beside the water tower. Eventually Myfanwy realised freedom was near and she soared out, circled the Hub once and made for the opening. Ianto stayed looking up for several minutes then came across and opened the CCTV using Owen's computer and screens. "Look, Jack, she's really enjoying it."

"So I see. Come sit over here." I patted the seat beside me. With his warm body next to mine, my happiness was complete. "This is nice."

"Umm." He had his head resting against my shoulder and his coffee mug clasped in both hands while watching Myfanwy soar over Cardiff Bay.

When Myfanwy was back in, after half an hour outside, we watched the screens again but this was a very different picture. Over Ianto's half-hearted objections – he wanted to see as much as me – I had found the CCTV of Owen and Toshiko in the Board Room. No doubt she had planned to erase it but had forgotten, easily done as I knew well. The pair of them quickly shed their clothes and Owen chased Toshiko round the table a time or two until she let herself be caught. The sight of their writhing bodies on the table, with her on top most of the time, was better than most of the porn I'd watched and I was immediately aroused. Ianto was affected too and we paused the CCTV to remove one another's clothes and satisfy our immediate needs. I insisted he went on top and amid a lot of laughter we replicated – or tried to - the frozen picture on the screen. The floor of the work area was cold and uncomfortable – maybe I should carpet the whole Hub – but I really didn't care, I had other things to think about. Afterwards and still on the floor, we restarted the CCTV and saw first Owen and then Toshiko climax. Their glistening, sweaty bodies lay entangled on the table for quite a while before they went off to the showers. Ianto and I watched the tape again, me bent over the desk as he pounded into me in rhythm to that of the couple of the screen. We climaxed at the same time as them this time. The sex continued down in Ianto's room, slow and loving and a lot more comfortable in the bed. When we were finally sated, he lay in my arms and sighed contentedly.

"That was wonderful," he murmured. "Just make sure you erase it before the morning."

"Them or us?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Us, of course." He yawned and snuggled closer. Within minutes he was sleeping, making the little snuffling sounds I now knew so well.

An hour later, I left the bed and straightened the duvet over him before bending to kiss his forehead. Eddy, who had been in the room most of the evening, was curled up on top of the chest of drawers and raised his head as I passed, chirruping softly. I took him with me when I left the room and we shared a shower before going up to the work area. Gathering up the clothes Ianto and I had abandoned, I dumped Ianto's on the sofa with Eddy and took mine to my quarters. Once dressed, I couldn't put off the paperwork waiting on my desk any longer.

I started on the emails. Among them was one from Duncan confirming Ianto's request for a meeting. I was so pleased the boy had taken the initiative; his nightmares appeared to have receded but there were still a lot of issues he had to work through. The rest of the emails were less interesting and I read them, answered a few and passed the remainder to other members of the team. The written reports were fairly standard stuff and I scanned these before setting them aside. It was more important to write up my conversation with Gwen Cooper while it was fresh in my memory. That took half an hour or so as I recorded what had been said and added observations on the way she had discovered us. It had been good detective work.

Next I accessed the administration documents we keep on file and found the standard employment contract. Working through it, I filled in the blanks with Gwen's name and other details and checked the various clauses. She would be on the same terms as the others, receiving the trainee's salary for the three month probationary period. I filled in the figures and, out of interest, compared it with her WPC salary. Ours was substantially more than she was getting at present – recompense for being on call 24/7 and the dangerous nature of the work – even without the clothing allowance (we all regularly ruined clothes that had to be cleaned or replaced). When I was happy with the draft, I printed it off and put it to one side. Devising the job description took longer as her role was new but I finally got it how I wanted it. It could be amended once she settled into the job and we understood it, and her skills, better. I printed this too and emailed Ianto asking him to set up a new employee record, giving him a few hints. Finally, I erased the CCTV of us, after watching it through once more. We were good.

Eddy peeped over the edge of the desk as I finished. He'd been crawling round the office for a little while, exploring the TV screens in the corner and climbing the coat stand inside my coat. He had come up the leg of the desk and now moved between the items on the top, pausing to look at the model spitfire and stretching up to look at the coral which, one day, might become a TARDIS. I reached out and held onto it before his weight pushed it over. Seeing him reminded me of the Tenquoo commander when he had stomped up and down on the desk. Lost in my memories, I took my eye off Eddy and the pile of reports, which I'd dumped on one corner, toppled over onto the floor as he tried to get on top of them.

"Oh, Eddy, what am I going to do with you?" I scooped him up from the floor and held him to my chest, rubbing his face against mine. He smelt of shower gel.

Deciding a break was in order, I took Eddy to the kitchen where he had a saucer of milk and I drank some water. Refreshed, we were on our way back to the office when an alert sounded. The Rift had opened over the library in Canton. It appeared small enough and in normal circumstances I'd have been content to monitor it from the base. However, given the amount of ordnance that had been coming our way I decided to go and take a look. Eddy went happily into my quarters again – I think he wanted to explore some more – and I went out into the night.

At three twenty in the morning it was dark and cold and I turned up the heater in the SUV. The roads were empty as I sped through Butetown and Riverside arriving at the library twenty minutes after leaving the Hub. My wrist-strap scanner picked up the Rift traces and I left the warmth of the car and wandered down Brunswick Street. This was an older part of the city with large Edwardian villas on both sides of the road, most of them converted into flats. Outside all of them was a line of vehicles, cars mostly but some vans. The vehicles were parked haphazardly and some blocked the pavement forcing me to walk in the road.

That saved me another death.

The explosion occurred a few metres in front of me. A blue Ford Fiesta was catapulted into the air and landed on top of a Toyota Avensis. The noise shattered the quiet night and the shock wave blew down a garden wall and set off car alarms up and down the street. Some windows in the houses were broken. I was knocked off my feet but was unharmed, just shocked. In a few moments, lights appeared in bedroom windows and people looked out cautiously. I stayed where I was, half hidden behind a white van. I didn't want them thinking it was me that had caused the explosion, better if I appeared to be an innocent bystander. One by one, front doors opened and men and women and some children, in various state of dress, stood looking out and asking one another what had happened. One man, dressed in trousers and pyjama top, was braver or more stupid than the rest and walked towards the cars. Not a good move. Flames, small at the moment, were flickering out of the Fiesta. When they reached the petrol tank we'd have another explosion.

Levering myself to my feet, I shouted, "Stay back!" I trod on a wing mirror blown off in the explosion and staggered, just keeping my balance.

The man heard me, hesitated and turned back. "You hurt, mate?"

"I'm okay. But that's likely to blow up. Keep everyone back."

Between us we kept his curious and scared neighbours at a safe distance for the seven minutes it took for the fire engines, summoned by the residents, to arrive. The two vehicles barely made it down the narrow space between the parked vehicles. The firefighters assessed the situation and began dousing the cars that were already alight and those around them with thick foam. The police who arrived minutes later evacuated the residents and soon a small crowd had gathered at the end of the street. I was herded along with them. With firefighters everywhere, I couldn't get close enough to the seat of the blast to scan for more of the alien explosives.

Slipping away, I called Toshiko and told her to join me at the SUV. I needed her help in ensuring nothing else had come through. I sat in the SUV and waited for her, listening to the emergency channels. Police were busy making the area safe but they didn't know what to look for. Two people had been hurt by flying glass but were not seriously injured. The houses themselves appeared to have escaped major damage.

Toshiko opened the door and slipped into the back seat beside me. She was wearing a pink tracksuit and was breathing fast. "What's the situation?"

"Under control for now." I paused and smiled. "Did you run down here?" She lived in Pontcanna just to the north of Canton.

"It was quicker than getting the car out." She was checking the computer for information as we spoke. "More ordnance?"

"Looks like it. We need to scan the area in case any more came through and find out what it was." I brought up a map showing the site of the Rift opening. "The explosion happened here. We need to scan in this block of streets. I'll start in York Street while you take Beda Road. We'll meet in the middle."

"Okay." She adjusted her PDA and we left the SUV. I went left and she went right.

Twelve minutes later there was another explosion.


	86. Chapter 86

_Wow, over 800 reviews, thanks so much. Just want to mention a new story I've posted called Stitch in Time. You may find it worth reading._

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* * *

_**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Six

"Tosh, you okay?" I called over the comms. The explosion had come from my right, the direction she had taken. "Tosh!"

"_I'm okay. It's taken out a newsagents in Theobald Road." _

"Stay clear of it, Tosh, I'm on my way." I was already running. "I'm calling in Owen."

The next two hours were busy as we made a complete sweep of the area, going out four or five hundred metres in all directions from the two explosions which had occurred in adjoining streets. Owen had the thankless job of liaising with the police who believed they were dealing with a terrorist attack and were in danger of losing what little sense they possessed. He managed to stop them calling in MI5 and the Army but it was a close run thing. Gradually order was restored and as it started to get light it became clear that the damage was not as extensive as feared. The newsagents was partially destroyed killing the manager asleep in the flat above. Three other houses were damaged but the occupants received only minor injuries.

We were tired and hungry when we walked into the Hub at six thirty to find Ianto waiting for us. He was in underpants and an open shirt looking at Toshiko's screens and squealed when he saw I was not alone. As we hadn't needed his support, I'd decided to let him sleep.

"Christ, now he's running around naked too!" complained Owen. "Get some clothes on, teaboy." He stomped up the steps.

"No, don't do that." I was in the work area by now and reached for Ianto who was trying to get into the suit trousers I'd dumped on the sofa. I got a handful of arse before he squirmed away and it got covered up.

"What's happened?" Ianto's voice was controlled and serious but his face was a pleasing shade of red; he couldn't meet Toshiko's gaze. He buttoned his shirt and the lovely hairy chest disappeared too.

"Some more Pronskite warheads. In Canton," I told him, removing my coat which he automatically took from me. "Both exploded. One death and a dozen injured, not seriously."

At her desk, Toshiko was bringing up more programs. "Now I have these readings, there may be enough to calculate the source. If we knew that, we'd be better prepared for any future openings from those coordinates."

"Worth a shot," I agreed. "Ianto, I need breakfast. Didn't you say something last night about bacon and eggs?" I gazed at him hopefully.

"Yuck!" We looked at Owen who had his hands held out away from him. "My desk's all sticky. It wasn't like this yesterday."

Ianto met my gaze and we both grinned. We'd been too involved last night to clean up after ourselves and Ianto hadn't had time this morning. Owen must have seen our expressions.

"Oh no! No! No, don't tell me you were …!" He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going to shower and when I get back that desk better be clean." He went off, still holding his hands out, his face a picture of disgust while the rest of us laughed.

"I'm going to change too," said Toshiko. She kept spare clothes here for just such emergencies and I assumed she'd also share Owen's shower.

With Ianto off getting properly dressed – he likes a different suit every day – I was left on my own. Remembering Eddy, I went down to my quarters which were much as I'd left them; the little Eddykk's explorations hadn't disturbed things too much. He was curled up on the pillow asleep. I picked him up gently so as not to disturb him and went back up the ladder, placing him on my desk while I wrote up the morning's events. By the time I'd finished, Eddy was awake and roaming round. He'd investigated when Ianto had cleaned Owen's desk but came back to me when he caught a whiff of the disinfectant.

Breakfast was taken in the Board Room. Ianto was once more immaculate in a fresh suit and Toshiko and Owen were scrubbed clean. I missed Toshiko's tracksuit; she looked pretty in pink. We were all ready for some food after the early start and breakfast soon disappeared. Eddy wandered amongst us, taking titbits from us all.

"Thanks, Ianto, that was excellent," I said, pushing away my plate.

"Yes, thanks, Ianto," echoed Toshiko with a smile. She had Eddy on her lap and was feeding him bits of toast.

"I don't think toast and marmalade are good for him," commented Ianto, still eating but watching the Eddykk with concern.

"But he loves it. Don't you, sweetie?"

Owen ignored them all and asked, "What's the plan for today, Jack?"

"I need to know where you and Tosh are in finding the Pisn'ioc. Get your stuff together and come see me when you're ready. Gwen Cooper will be coming in around twelve. Ianto, I'll need you to have the employee record set up by then. I sent you an email about it."

"If you need any help, let me know," volunteered Toshiko.

"Thanks." Ianto had finally finished his meal and neatly placed his knife and fork together. "Need a contract too?"

"No, I did that last night. Lets have lunch around then so you can all get to know her. Which reminds me," I looked pointedly at Owen, "you owe me twenty quid."

"I know." He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and found his wallet, handing me a crumpled and torn note. "There you go. What exactly have you told her?"

I filled them in and they seemed happy enough. "Oh, and another job for you, Owen." I paused for effect. "As you were the twat who told the pizza place about us, you can be the one to give them all Retcon."

"Shit! Where's the harm, Jack? Oh, come on." All his wailing and pleading didn't make me relent. It was bad enough that the emergency services knew of our existence, I didn't want all the fast food joints knowing too.

"Any others you've used the Torchwood name for?" I asked, glaring at him.

"No. Teaboy does all the ordering now."

"I always say it's for Jones," put in Ianto. He had finally got Eddy away from Toshiko and was wiping him up with a paper napkin.

"That's safe enough," I commented with a grin. There were thousands in the city, I came across them everywhere, but none were as special as this one. "Anything else?"

Ianto spoke up. "What are all those artefacts doing on Suzie's desk? I assume they're the ones you stole …" I shot him a look and opened my mouth to remonstrate with him. "Sorry, confiscated from the market trader," he amended with a smile.

"They are. I thought you might want to look at them, Tosh, if you have a moment. Otherwise, they can go in the archives."

"Should have time later on," she replied. "Okay to leave them for now, Ianto?"

"Of course. Though we'll have to rearrange the desk for Gwen sometime. Any idea when she's likely to start?"

I shook my head. "Depends what I can negotiate with her current boss. No more than a month but less if I can wangle it."

"Good," came from a surprising source. Owen was leaning back in his chair, sipping from his coffee mug. "We need the extra body," he explained.

A poor choice of words but I was pleased he was being positive. It would make what I wanted to say to him next a lot easier. "If that's the lot, let's get back to work. Owen, a word. In my office."

I got up and led the way out. Toshiko stayed and helped Ianto clear up, still fighting him for possession of Eddy. After a brief, startled pause, Owen followed me to the office. I waited and shut the door behind him.

"What have I done now?" he asked in a long-suffering tone.

"Nothing." I perched on the edge of the desk. "Now we're getting back up to strength, I've decided to appoint a second in command. I'd like you to take it on. Doesn't mean you do exactly what Suzie did – we have Ianto for the admin stuff – but I need someone I can rely on out in the field and who'll take the lead when I'm not around. You can help train Gwen too. What do you say?"

He affected a blasé attitude but I could tell he was pleased to be asked. "Tosh has been here longer than me," he pointed out.

"I know but I don't see her in the role." It was harsh but true, she was not a leader. "And I don't think she'd want it. Besides, she's taken on all the technical support and development and that's more than enough for one person. So, what's your answer?"

He shrugged but couldn't quite suppress the smile of pleasure. "Yeah, all right. Do I get more money?" he grinned.

"There'll be a little extra. But," I paused to indicate I was being serious, "I expect you to be more supportive of your colleagues. And by that I really mean Ianto. Why do you two snipe at one another all the time?"

"I don't know. Just kinda happened. It doesn't mean I don't like him, and I know he does a good job. Besides, he gets his own back." He sighed. "But … I hear what you're saying."

"Thank you." An idea suddenly occurred to me. "In that spirit, he needs some hand-to-hand training, just the basics. Why don't you do that?"

"Oh yeah!" His face lit up. "A chance to put the teaboy through his paces? Love to."

"Supportive, Owen," I reminded him gently. "And don't hurt him."

"Oh." He looked less enthusiastic. "Don't worry, you'll still be able to shag him when I've finished with him. Just not over my desk!" he added, wagging a finger at me.

I stood up, ready to get on with other things. "He cleaned up after you and Tosh in the Board Room," I mentioned, walking round the desk. "You two were pretty … athletic yesterday." His face was puce with the realisation I'd watched the CCTV. "Better make sure you erase the CCTV next time."

"You bastard!"

"Oh come on, how many times have you watched me?" It was a rhetorical question. The Hub was my home, had been for a good few years, and I'd used it for sexual encounters with a variety of people, some Torchwood personnel some not. The CCTV didn't bother me and I didn't care who watched, quite liked seeing it myself.

Owen fumed a bit then, surprisingly, said, "Don't tell Tosh. It would only embarrass her."

"I won't." The chair creaked as I leant back. "You two getting serious?"

"God, no! It's just … well, she's not like the others. She's not even like it was with Suzie." He struggled to put his feelings into words. "I just don't want to hurt her."

"I'm pleased to hear it." Perhaps Owen was finally getting over the loss of Katie – it had been almost two years – and was ready to think of making a serious commitment once again. "You want to tell Tosh about your new role?"

"Might be better coming from you. I'd better get on with the Pisn'ioc stuff. Be ready in about an hour. That okay?"

"Sure, as long as Tosh is ready then too."

He went off to the medical bay and I signed off the reports. Toshiko reappeared and settled at her desk, calm and efficient. I hoped she would understand my decision to make Owen second in command. I didn't want to upset her or make them uncomfortable with one another. Just when I was going to ask her into the office, she got up and headed my way.

"Jack, remember the monitor we put on Henry Parker's phones? It just came up with something interesting." Her face was alight with success.

We'd started monitoring shortly after the raid at Epping Forest and while there had been one or two dubious calls, we'd not got anything special out of it. I'd forgotten all about it but clearly Toshiko had continued to check the results every day. It's that kind of attention to detail that makes her so valuable to the team.

"What?"

"A phone call from Russia last night. Lasted twenty two minutes. Here's the number." She handed me a slip of paper. "I've traced it to a Leonide Belikov who lives in Gatchinskiy Rayon, a town a few miles south of St Petersburg."

"Good work." The information would be useful to Alan Mace who was still trying to trace the Cyberman that had been taken there. "Why don't you call Mace and give him the information?" I handed back the note. "You found it, you should get the credit."

"Okay." She seemed pleased to be given the responsibility.

"While you're here, Tosh, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." I glanced outside but no one was in sight or earshot. "I need to appoint a second in command and -"

"No, Jack," she interrupted. "If you were thinking of me, please don't." She sat on the edge of the visitor's chair. "I know I've been here longer, but Owen would be much more suitable."

"I'm glad you see it that way, I'd come to the same conclusion." I smiled at her relieved expression. "Besides, you're too valuable as our technical expert."

"Does he know?" She was genuinely happy for him, not in the least envious or put out that I'd chosen him over her.

"Yeah."

She jumped up. "I must go and congratulate him. Unless there's anything else?"

"No, you carry on."

She walked quickly out the room and disappeared into the medical bay. Looking over, I saw Ianto at his desk and walked over to tell him the news. He was content too, more interested in fathoming out our employee records. I helped him allocate an employee number and talked about some of the other forms we'd need Gwen to complete. He started getting them together and made it clear I was in the way.

While the others were busy, I had nothing particular to do and couldn't face sitting in the office any longer. I took some water from the fridge and headed up to our grandly named rest area which is no more than a couple of tables and chairs on a wide part of the walkway. Someone had left a Sunday newspaper up there and I found the holiday segment and flicked through it. When I'd exhausted this – it was of limited interest, I'd never be able to take a holiday – I played Space Invaders. Our scores were scribbled on a pink Post-it. Owen played this most and was top scorer though Suzie was a close second. I had a go and was moving through the levels when a shout from below distracted me and I was annihilated.

"We're ready," shouted up Owen when he saw he had my attention. Toshiko was standing nearby also looking up.

"Okay." I met them in the office where they'd made themselves at home. "Right, what have you come up with?" I asked as I sat down.

Toshiko spoke first. "The Pisn'ioc has a couple of distinct biological features that we can scan for, the difficulty is the range of the PDA scanners. I've used some Efgartix technology and increased it to two thousand metres. I can do the same for three other PDAs. It still not a great range given the size of the city but if we position ourselves right, we can check a decent-sized area at one time."

"Good. I'm assuming we use them on the move."

"Yes. I'm working out a grid search, starting in Pengam where we know the Pisn'ioc was a few days ago, with four of us in cars."

I thought about this a minute or two. "Might be better to have two cars. I know we won't be able to scan as big an area at once but it would be safer. Plus you'd only need to get one other PDA done. How long does it take?"

"It's fiddly. Couple of hours at least."

"That's fine. You take the rest of the morning for that. We can start scanning this afternoon, if it stays quiet. Owen, what do we do with the Pisn'ioc when we find it?"

"Castrate it." He must have seen me wince because he suddenly grinned. "Yeah, know how you feel." We both crossed our legs and attempted to relax. "I'm talking chemical castration." This didn't make me feel any better.

"How's that going to help?" I asked.

"The problem with the Weevils started because the Pisn'ioc is looking for a mate. If we remove his sex drive, he'll settle back to living in peace with them. Least, that's the theory."

"Theory? We need more than a theory, Owen."

"I know. The biological data I have is pretty explicit, one of the few times I'm glad London liked experimenting on aliens." He pulled a face, no happier than the rest of us with their methods. "Pisn'ioc have a gland in the side of their neck that determines gender and controls sex drive. If we stop that working, our problem is solved."

"And we just … inject some chemical?"

"A progestagen of my own design. Basically it's a steroid but with my own Harper magic." He looked proud of himself. "Kris Svensson, back in '95, considered using alien drugs to control the population if the Pisn'ioc family hadn't been sent back. It was good work and with my additional expertise, I've come up with a shot that will permanently castrate the one we've got rampaging in Weevil-land."

"In theory."

The door flew open and Ianto appeared looking flustered. "I need Owen. Eddy's sick."

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_Oh no! What's wrong with Eddy? Will he be all right? Do you want him to be?_


	87. Chapter 87

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Seven

We all gathered in the medical bay. Eddy lay on the examination table, very still. He feebly chirruped once. He looked tiny and vulnerable. Ianto was beside the table, stroking Eddy constantly and making soothing noises as Owen ran various scanners over the little body. Toshiko was very upset, blaming herself for feeding Eddy the toast and marmalade at breakfast. I wasn't sure that this was the cause, the little Eddykk had eaten some of my toast a few days ago and not been ill, but she refused to be comforted.

"You can't use that," said Toshiko when she saw Owen reach for the weird device that had come through the Rift a few months before. Owen called it a singularity scalpel but none of us had any idea what it really was. His attempts at using it had been spectacular failures. "You've killed everything you've used it on!"

"What?" Ianto said sharply. "What is that thing?"

"Calm down, both of you." Owen was short and to the point, never liking an audience when he was diagnosing a problem. "Yeah, as I thought. That's what the trouble is." He moved the singularity scalpel so we could see the screen. "He's got a blockage in his gut."

"How did that happen? What is it?"

"Won't know until I open him up." Owen's tone was a little too enthusiastic for Ianto who glowered at the doctor. "Everyone out. Don't need you lot hanging around while I'm working."

"Hold on," I said. Both Ianto and Toshiko were upset by now. We'd had the Eddykk such a short time and yet he'd won their hearts. Strange how some creatures have that knack. In all my travels, I'd never come across a race that didn't get attached to the little things. And the Eddykks were content to give as much love back in return for their care. "Let's look at that again." The picture on the singularity scalpel's screen was amazingly clear and showed a small mass towards the end of the digestive tract. Something Eddy had eaten had been part-digested but could not be absorbed or sufficiently broken down to pass through.

"It's the toast, I know it is. I'm so sorry." Toshiko was wringing her hands and almost in tears.

"We don't know that," said Ianto, briefly touching her hand to reassure her. I was proud of him. "Do you have to operate?" he asked.

"Yep. Unless I use this," he waved the singularity scalpel, "and even I'm not that stupid." He stopped a moment, taking pity on them. "Look, whatever is in there is well and truly gumming up the works. Sure, I could try and dissolve it IF I knew what it was. But in the time it takes to find out, he's not going to get any better." He didn't need to say that Eddy could get very much worse.

"I think we should let him operate," I said, moving away from the table. "Come on, there's no need for you to watch." Toshiko came with me but Ianto stood his ground.

"I'm staying." There was no arguing with him and Owen saw this and accepted his help. As Toshiko and I left, the two of them were getting out the anaesthetic.

The Hub was very quiet for the next half an hour as Owen, with Ianto's help, operated on the Eddykk. Toshiko began recalibrating the PDA but had one screen open showing the medical bay and all that was happening there. I helped her, having nothing else I wanted to do; even a space veteran like me was concerned for Eddy. When they'd finished, Ianto emerged first with Eddy in the carry case.

"He's going to be fine." He smiled faintly and placed the case on the sofa. Toshiko immediately rushed to look inside. "It was the marmalade. Apparently he can't digest citrus fruits or anything made from them."

This was news to me and I thought back to when Eddy had helped me with my breakfast a few days ago. The toast he had eaten had been buttered, I remembered that, but maybe it hadn't had any preserves on it. Pure luck as I usually loaded on jam or marmalade.

"I am really sorry. I should have listened to you," said Toshiko, tears in her eyes.

"Any of us could have done it. You weren't to know." He placed an arm round her shoulders and they stood together for a moment. Two private people comforting one another in quiet dignity. "How did that little bundle of fur come to mean so much to us?"

I spotted a lone tear falling down his cheek and reached over to wipe it away. "They make everyone love them. It's their nature. I'm pleased he's going to be okay." He smiled at me gratefully. "You going to leave him there?"

"No, I'll take him up to the Tourist Office with me." He and Toshiko had pulled apart now and she was back at her desk, their shared moment over. "I can work up there until WPC Cooper arrives." He picked up the carry case. "We still on to talk about the budget today?"

I'd forgotten all about it but welcomed the thought of a long meeting with the boy. "Sure. Depending how Tosh and Owen get on, it might be late."

"That's okay."

I went back to the office but couldn't settle to anything. I read the online reports of the Canton explosion – it had happened too late for the printed newspapers – and was pleased to see that the police had stuck to the story we'd agreed. That didn't stop some of the reporters suggesting it had been terrorism, of course, but they were in a minority. Eventually, with nothing else I wanted to do, I grabbed my greatcoat and headed out for some air.

It was only mid-morning and a blustery, cloudy day that threatened rain later. I walked right round the Bay, striding out and letting the wind blow away the cobwebs in my brain. There is always so much going on that every now and again I need time out doing nothing. Standing on the barrage, I watched the boats and tourists and workers going about their business, reminders of why it was important we do what we do. We didn't prevent every potential catastrophe – this morning's explosions were evidence of that – but we contained them, made them understandable and in the long run that was enough to ensure these people had a decent life free from worry. It wouldn't always be possible. There were big changes on the way.

I returned to the base at eleven thirty, refreshed from my walk. "You're wet." Ianto looked up from the papers he was sorting. "Is it raining?"

"Just started." A fine drizzle had dampened my coat and hair. "How's Eddy?"

Ianto beamed. "He's fine. Still a bit dopey." He reached under the counter and brought out the carry case. Inside Eddy was lying stretched out, his eyes open but not as alert as normal. He chirruped when he saw me and tried to move but gave up; it was too much effort. "Owen says he'll be back to normal in another couple of hours."

"That's good." I stroked the Eddykk's head through the open door. "You gave us a fright, Eddy. Don't do it again."

"I'll make sure he doesn't." Ianto's face was determined. I wondered if the rest of us would be allowed to feed Eddy ever again. Probably not. A vision of Ianto as Eddy's food taster popped into my head and I smiled at the thought. "Owen said he'd try and find out what other foods might affect Eddy. Until then, he's just having fish and vegetables."

"Good idea. When Gwen gets here, bring her down." I leant over and opened the secret door.

"Okay. I'll ask her what she wants for lunch too."

"You're ahead of me. Again." I leant across and brushed his lips with mine.

With a wave, I went through the door and down to into the base. Toshiko was in the medical bay with Owen discussing the Pisn'ioc from what I heard as I walked past. In the office, I found a folder with all the documents I needed for Gwen to which I added the draft contract and job description before heading back to the medical bay.

"I want your advice," I told the two of them, sitting on the bottom steps. "Do I tell Gwen about Suzie?"

It was a tough call and one I'd been mulling over since my chat with Gwen the night before. She had been part of the police investigation into the murders and I was not sure how she'd react when she realised one of us had been responsible. And having a murderer in our midst might well put her off accepting the job. On the other hand, it didn't seem fair not to tell her. And the truth was likely to come out sometime anyway – one of us would let it slip - and finding out that way would be worse.

"Jeez, hadn't thought of that," admitted Owen.

"Nor me." Toshiko bit her lip. "You have to tell her," she went on after a pause, "she's bound to find out."

"Yeah, better she knows from you. If she freaks out we can cut our losses and Retcon her." Owen was right. It would be much easier to take away Gwen's memories of us now than months in the future.

"That's what I thought. Let's hope she takes it well." I stood up. "You going to be ready for hunting the Pisn'ioc later."

"Waiting for my special brew to synthesise fully. But it should be done by lunchtime."

"The PDAs are done and I've got the search pattern worked out." Toshiko was always ready. I can't think of many, if any, occasions when she'd held us up.

"Good." I had just made it back to the office when the door alarm sounded and Gwen and Ianto walked through. They came directly to me.

"Gwen, good to see you again." I waved her in. "Thanks, Ianto."

"My pleasure. Gwen and I have decided on Chinese for lunch." They exchanged a small smile. "I'll put the order in now."

"Great, haven't had that for a while." He left and closed the door behind him. "You didn't change your mind about joining us then. That's good." She was sitting in the visitor's chair, looking around her at the various items I keep in here with me. Lot of rubbish, most of it, but I like to have it around.

"Still can't believe it," she admitted, meeting my gaze and grinning. "I've accepted a job I know nothing about!"

"Then let's start with a job description." I got it out of the folder and handed it to her. "It's only a draft at the moment. Every member of the team brings different strengths and experience so none of the jobs are the same. We'll amend this as we go along." The discussion continued and I liked her more and more. She asked intelligent questions which I was able to answer to her satisfaction.

Ten minutes in, she asked the big one. "This sounds like a really interesting job, Captain Harkness, but ... well, it must be dangerous too. The … whatever you called it yesterday, at the hospital, it could have killed me."

"Weevil, it's called a Weevil. And you're right, the job can be dangerous. We deal with all sorts of alien life. From small, loving creatures like Eddykks – I'll introduce you to one of those later – to angry Weevils. And worse. Some of the artefacts that come our way are dangerous too. At the moment we're getting a steady stream of weapons landing on us. Had two this morning at Canton."

She stared at me, open mouthed. "The explosions?"

"Uh-huh. They went off before we could get to them. Gwen, this is not an backroom job. There are dangers and you'll be out there facing them every day. But we minimise the risks as much as we can, with training and anything else necessary." I paused then added. "And we don't always come through unharmed. You're replacing Suzie Costello who died a week or so ago." I told Gwen all about Suzie's use of the Glove and what it had led her to do. I didn't dwell on the detail but I told the truth, all of it.

"She was the murderer? My God, you've known all the time," the old accusatory tone was back in her voice, "and you didn't say anything!"

"I didn't know. None of us did. Suzie was good, very good, and she hid it from us for a long time. As soon I did realise, I stopped her. She then chose to take her own life. And no, before you ask, I am not going to tell the police. She's dead. She can't hurt anyone ever again. If you're going to join us, you have to accept that."

I watched her carefully. She had an open and honest face, one made for showing her feelings. At that moment, I saw her horror at what I'd told her but there was compassion there too. As a policewoman she had seen the dark side of human nature but this hadn't taken away her empathy. I needed that quality on the team and I hoped she'd not be put off joining us.

"Those people's families, they deserve closure." She hesitated. "But, I suppose it wouldn't stand up in court; not sure I believe this Glove thing myself. Not that there can be a trial anyway, not if she's dead."

"She is. She's in the morgue if you want to make sure." My attempt at black humour worked. After a startled gasp, Gwen managed a small laugh. "So, do you still want in?"

"Yes."

"Good. I see lunch has arrived." Ianto was taking a large cardboard box up to the Boardroom. "Let's go eat."

Lunch was a little stilted at first but Eddy broke some of the tension. He was fully recovered and Ianto allowed Gwen to pet him as Owen boasted of his life saving surgery. He rather overdid the attempt to impress and Gwen didn't appear taken in. The rest of us were content to explain how we had found Eddy and some of his adventures, including his assistance at the Rift opening at IKEA. The conversation moved on to more general matters and the others talked about their jobs and some of the wonders they'd seen. No one dwelt on the horrors. When the food was gone, Toshiko took Gwen to the bathroom to freshen up.

"She's all right," decided Owen, wiping his mouth.

"I like her," added Ianto. He was placing Eddy in his carry case after allowing him a very small lunch of lettuce, cucumber and tomato; none of us had been allowed to give him titbits.

"Did you tell her about Suzie?"

"Yep," I said. "All of it and she's still going to join us."

"Not surprised. It's a bloody good job."

Owen and I went back to the lower level where Toshiko was showing Gwen the artefacts confiscated from Idris Morgan. Quarter of an hour later, after showing her a little more of the Hub, it was time for Gwen to leave.

"I'll walk you out," I offered, leading her back to the office where she'd left her jacket. "Front door or scenic route?"

"Ooh, the lift thingy!" She grinned. Back in the work area, Owen and Toshiko were at their desks. "It's been nice meeting you both. I'm looking forward to joining you."

"I'll talk to your bosses, see what we can arrange," I said. "I hope it'll only be a couple of weeks."

"That'd be great."

Her outgoing personality was a real tonic and I felt refreshed as I took her up on the lift. As we passed the Boardroom she waved at Ianto who was still clearing up in there. She obviously liked people and was used to connecting and socialising with her colleagues. I walked with her to her car and she continued to bubble with enthusiasm. A very different personality to Suzie and to the rest of us. She'd be a shot in the arm to the team.

The rest of the afternoon was less productive. The four of us set out to find the Pisn'ioc; Owen and Toshiko in his car and Ianto and me – and Eddy, who Ianto wouldn't leave behind - in the SUV. We drove up and down the residential streets of Pengam, Tremorfa, Splott and Adamstown in the grid search pattern Toshiko had devised. In the SUV, Ianto was driving while I used the PDA to scan the area. It was three hours of pure boredom, bearable only by being in Ianto's company, and at half four I called a halt. It had been a long day and we all needed some rest. We'd do another part of the grid, to the north and west of Pengam, tomorrow.

Toshiko and Owen shot off within half an hour. Owen had roped Toshiko in to help him Retcon the Jubilee Pizza staff that night and they wanted some time to rest, or so they said, before that. I knew they were off for a quick shag really. Ianto insisted that he and I discuss the budget despite my attempts at getting a shag of our own but I did manage to negotiate an hour's grace in which to shower and change.

We met in the Boardroom where Ianto had set out the budget files, copious notes on a yellow pad, a calculator and a large pot of coffee. Eddy was asleep in his carry case on the side. It was all very cosy.

"Okay, Ianto, what's first?"

"I'd like to know what's on Flat Holm island that costs £500,000 a year."

* * *

_Many thanks to all of you who responded about Eddy. Seems he's won your hearts so he got a reprieve. Now, how's Jack going to answer Ianto about Flat Holm? Find out next time ..._


	88. Chapter 88

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Eight

"What?" I stared at Ianto stupidly.

His question hung in the air. _What's on Flat Holm island that costs £500,000 a year?_ How the heck did he find out about that? I had set the place up myself and all the documentation about construction was under lock and key in my office along with details of the company I used to find staff. The day-to-day bills were dealt with by Helen from an account I'd set up for the purpose and she kept all the paperwork. In over four years of managing the budget, Suzie had queried the account only twice but never discovered its purpose. So how had Ianto?

"Everything in the budget is pretty straightforward," he said, apparently not noticing my stunned reaction. "Salaries, utilities, computer and technical equipment, medical supplies - all that sort of thing. I think there are areas we could economise, if you want to, but that's a minor consideration." He flicked through the notes in front of him as he spoke, pencil marking each item. "But then there's this odd accommodation account. Half a million goes into it every year." He looked at me. "At first I thought it might be something Suzie had set up and you didn't know about. Then I found a transfer of funds into the account, which you authorised late last week. So what's on Flat Holm?"

"Flat Holm?" My mind was an absolute blank. I now understood how he had found the account. But how had he found out about Flat Holm?

He threw the pencil down in disgust and let out a heavy sigh. "It's another one of your secrets, isn't it? I should have known. When Brendan Griffiths told me he did work for you out there, maintenance work, I knew you were up to something. What have you got out there? A torture chamber? Experimentation lab?" He laughed mirthlessly. "No, of course not, more likely a home for all your retconned ex-lovers!"

"Not big enough for that." I was coming out of my daze but still couldn't see a way to head him off the scent.

"Are you going to tell me?" he demanded, ignoring my lame joke.

I thought about this, seriously considered opening up. But Ianto was so young and, despite his years with Torchwood, so innocent I didn't want to land the horror that was Flat Holm in his lap. Better to keep it to myself as I had done for the past seven years. "No."

"I see. Sir." He bent his head over the papers but not before I'd seen the hurt in his eyes. "We have to make a return on money spent over the past quarter. I've had a go at filling in the form. Here's a copy, sir."

He handed me a copy of the three page form and proceeded to go through it, item by item. I listened to the tone of his voice rather than the words. He was seriously pissed. Occasionally he would ask me to explain a particular item but otherwise it was merely a recitation of facts and figures. Next he did the same with the projection for the coming quarter. In forty minutes, I said barely half a dozen words while he talked nonstop. Without saying anything about Flat Holm he was accusing me every moment, making me feel a complete bastard for not being open with him. But I couldn't say anything without giving him yet more to deal with which would be so unfair when he was still coming to terms with the recent traumas of his life.

"Thank you for your time, sir," he said when we'd completed the forms. "I'll make final copies and let you see them before I send them to the Treasury. And now I'm going to take Eddy to the playroom; Owen said a little exercise would do him good. If you'll excuse me, sir." He had his papers and calculator under one arm and the carry case in his other hand.

"Ianto, can't we discuss this -"

"It seems not, sir. That is what you've decided, isn't it?" He was standing looking down at me and I had to look away from his accusing stare. "As I thought. I'll be going to my room later, and I don't want company."

The door swung closed behind him and I was left in the empty Boardroom. The sound of his footsteps receded and silence fell around me. I stayed there for an hour, drinking the last of the coffee and thinking. At the end of that time I still didn't want to tell Ianto about Flat Holm but I didn't want to lose him over it either. Brendan Griffiths, that had been the link Ianto had needed to tie the account to Flat Holm. I should have overseen the man when he cleared Suzie's flat myself, not let Ianto meet him at all. But I hadn't expected them to get chatting!

Below me I saw Ianto walk across the lower level to the kitchen and hastened down, taking the empty coffee pot and mug. Ianto was standing at the counter mashing up some salmon and vegetables for Eddy. A sandwich sat ready on a tray with a lone bottle of beer.

"I'll be out of your way in a moment," he said without turning round or stopping what he was doing.

"Ianto …" I couldn't find the words to bridge the gap and watched helplessly as he placed the Tupperware container on the tray. He was going to return downstairs if I didn't say something and soon. "I'm sorry."

Tray in hand, he stood and looked at me. "If that's all, sir, I'd like to go to my room." What could I do? I stepped aside and let him leave, standing and watching his retreating back.

The rest of the evening passed very slowly. I did a little work and eventually made myself a corned beef sandwich which I ate in solitary state on the sofa of the work area. The equipment made its usual soft hum, a noise I hadn't heard for a while as usually Ianto was with me and took all my attention. My hopes of him returning with the tray and dirty dishes went unrealised and at ten o'clock I gave up on the idea. The Rift predictor remained clear and the Weevils were staying home so I turned in, lying on my narrow bunk with Asimov. But reading was a poor substitute for human companionship and I found it hard to settle. My eyes were drawn to the shelf where sat the small Welsh dragon Ianto had given me from the Tourist Office stock, a reminder of happier times.

However, I was not going to change my mind. The facilities on Flat Holm housed broken men and women, all of them disfigured and some deformed, and I was resolved not to inflict their pain and suffering on Ianto. He was so determined that once he knew they were there he would insist in visiting. If I found it difficult to handle, how much more so would it be for him in his fragile mental state? No, he had to be protected from it. And if that meant I had to lose him, to forgo the comfort and peace loving him gave me then so be it. Perhaps it was for the best anyway. I had been getting too close to him. When The Doctor came, any time now, I would be free to travel with him again unencumbered by the Welshman. All I had to do was convince my heart to accept what my head, my reason, was telling me. I failed.

Thoughts of The Doctor reminded me of his hand and I went to the work area to check on it. The fingers were still and lifeless and the aeration bubbles continued with monotonous regularity. Only when the fingers twitched and the bubbles raced to the surface would he be near and my long wait over. Back in the office, I checked the police channels but it was the same story as usual: drunks, small-time drug pushers and car thieves being arrested and hauled in for questioning. Gwen Cooper would be out there with her partner, helping to keep Cardiff safe for another night. Soon she'd be here keeping the city safe from far more dangerous threats.

Finally I got up the courage to do what I'd really come into the office for, I entered the code and opened the CCTV link to Ianto's room. He lay on his right side clutching a pillow to him. It was painful to watch – I so wanted to be there with him – but I didn't stop. He moved, rolling onto his back, and I realised with a start that he was awake. Could he be finding it as hard to settle without me as I was without him? Was there hope for us? Even as I thought this I realised Flat Holm was still a barrier. Ianto was stubborn and wouldn't let me get close again without an explanation and I couldn't give him one. I closed the CCTV.

The rest of the long night passed. I made myself a cup of tea and went up to the highest levels and sat by Myfanwy's nest watching her as she fussed. I played a little basketball. I listened to the radio. But all the time I was thinking of Ianto asleep – I hoped he was asleep – below. At six I showered and changed and went out to the bakery, buying some bagels. I ate one sitting on the steps by the water tower, the wind whipping round me, before returning to the Hub via the lift. Ianto, dressed in yet another of his smart suits, was coming out of the office and looked up when the lift descended.

"Good morning," he called, when the lift was about six metres from the ground. "Were you called out?" His voice was polite enough but it lacked the extra friendliness – love? - I'd come to expect.

"No. Bought some bagels." I held up the bag.

"I'll make some coffee to go with them." He walked off to the coffee machine and I dumped the bag on the table by the sofa and went to the office. I was sitting behind the desk reading a report when he returned and placed the mug near my right hand.

"Thanks."

Normally he'd sit in the visitor's chair and chat as we ate breakfast but today, after hesitating for a moment, he left the office, collected a bagel and took it to his own desk. I watched him cross the Hub and hardened my heart. If this was how it had to be in order to protect him, then I'd learn to live with it.

Time passed and I got more paperwork done. It got to the stage where I was searching for work to keep me in the office and started reading an involved and highly boring analysis of Rift activity that Suzie had done some months before. Just after eight Toshiko came in and after a word with Ianto – he made her coffee – she sat at her desk and started work too. It was very quiet and I felt the tension in the air. Owen's arrival an hour later livened things up a bit. He was bitching about having to retcon the Jubilee Pizza staff, loud enough for me to hear but without actually confronting me about it. Then the tension made even him fall quiet as he checked the hospital alerts that had come in overnight. From time to time he whispered to Toshiko and from their surreptitious glances at me and Ianto I knew they were speculating about us.

Finally I'd had enough and left the office. "We need to dump the porter's body today. Owen, you'd better get on and camouflage the wounds now. When you're done, we'll get back to the search for the Pisn'ioc." I headed towards the archway and the lower levels.

"Where are you going?" called Owen.

"Firing range."

I had a selection of handguns out on the table and was loading them when Toshiko entered the range. She crept forward until she stood beside me. "Jack," she began then stopped. After a moment, she tried again. "Jack, what's happened? You don't have to tell me but … well, if I can help."

I continued to load the weapons. "Thanks, but it's between me and Ianto. Want that weapons training we've been talking about?" I managed a grin for her.

"Not right now, thanks." She hovered uncertainly then said, "I need to sort out the search for later," and left.

Firing guns is an excellent way to let off steam and banish frustrations and worries. I concentrated on the targets, using all the guns I'd laid out, reloaded and worked through them all again. Emptying the clip of the Glock was satisfying and I was feeling good when I turned to place it on the table and found Ianto standing there. The noise of the gun had covered his entrance, not that he makes a lot of noise at the best of times.

"We need to talk," he said, hands in his pockets.

"I'm a bit busy right now." I reached for the Walther P99 but he placed a hand on mine and stopped me.

"You're going to listen, Jack, whether you want to or not." He removed his hand. "All your secrets, it's like you're hiding a part of yourself. Maybe that's what you want but it makes it damned hard for anyone to get close to you. I thought … I thought you wanted us … well, for there to be an 'us' but from where I'm standing it seems not. It hurts, being shut out."

His earnest expression and the hurt in his eyes made me want to reach out and hug him, to tell him everything and put things right between us. But I couldn't do that to him, I really couldn't expose him to the horror of Flat Holm. "I'm sorry, Ianto, really I am. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. You … you mean a lot to me."

"But you're not going to tell me what's on Flat Holm."

"I can't. There's nothing there to come between us, it's purely work, I promise you that." Would that satisfy him? I really hoped so.

He regarded me for a long minute then asked, "Are you ashamed of whatever it is?"

"No! If anything I'm kinda proud of it." I was. The Rift returnees had been neglected for years before I had established the facility and it was one of the few innovations of mine that had worked out better than I'd hoped.

"Then why not … No, no," he held up his hands. "All right. I won't ask anything more. Just remember, if you want to talk about it or need my help in any way, all you have to do is ask."

The wave of relief and love that washed over me was heady stuff and I stepped forward and enveloped him in a hug. He was going to let the secret lie. "I don't deserve you."

"Glad we agree on something." His arms went round me, gripping hard. "I missed you so much last night."

"Me too. Missed you, that is." I pulled back and kissed him, long and hard on the lips. We stayed in one another's arms, both a little nervous, and kissed again not sure what to do next. "How about some gun practice?" I said when the silence had gone a tad too long.

"Okay."

I handed him the Walther and he moved round to stand in front of the target which had paper pictures of Weevils on them. The next twenty minutes released all the uneasiness and we were laughing and pressed very close - his back to my front – when Owen's voice came over the comms.

"Jack, I'm done with the hospital porter. Want to start the search?"

"Yeah. Be about ten minutes." It would take that long to make the weapons safe and put them away.

"I think I'm getting better," said Ianto, removing the clip from the Glock he had been using.

"Must be my expert tuition."

"Bighead. But seriously, do you think I'm getting better?" He stopped what he was doing and looked over at me.

"Yes, I do. You're hitting the bull and inner most of the time. You even look more confident just handling the weapons. Which do you prefer?" I was putting the Browning 9mm in its case. It was one of my favourite guns, only surpassed by the Webley.

He considered his answer, checking the guns before helping me secure them. "The Glock, I think," he said finally.

"It's a good choice, light and easy to use. Pretty foolproof too. Tosh and Owen like it. You should carry it around with you. Don't have to load it, just get used to the weight and feel of it. Try the different holsters too."

"That's a good idea." He smiled and took the Glock he had been using and a holster that attached to his belt. I held out a magazine. "You said I didn't have to keep it loaded."

"You don't, but put a magazine in your pocket. Just in case." He took it reluctantly. I don't think he'll ever be truly at home with a gun. But having one with him meant he could defend himself if necessary.

When we returned to the work area, after detouring to collect Eddy from the playroom, the others were ready for us. It was ten thirty and time to continue the search. We took two cars and Eddy came along for the ride. At eleven thirty one Toshiko got a hit on the scanner. We had found the Pisn'ioc.


	89. Chapter 89

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Eighty Nine

"Everyone understand what they're doing?" I asked again.

"Let's bleeding well get on with it," complained Owen.

"Tosh, Ianto?"

"We stay up here and wait for you two to bring the Pisn'ioc to the ladder. Then we use the winch to haul him up," Toshiko replied obediently.

"Good. We'll keep the comms open." With a final look round I left the two of them standing in the rain by the drab and deserted lockup garages off Albany Road and descended the ladder into the sewers of Cardiff.

The plan was simple enough. We'd located the Pisn'ioc in a known Weevil nest a few hundred yards away in the labyrinthine sewer tunnels. Using an airborne sedative, we intended to subdue the Pisn'ioc and the Weevils around it and haul him out. Owen would then cut through the creature's hard carapace and inject his magic elixir which would chemically castrate it and, we believed, prevent it attacking the Weevils. Finally, we'd return the Pisn'ioc.

The plan may be simple but the reality was unpleasant. The smell in the tunnel was overpowering. Waste flowed in a channel running along the floor of the tunnel, occasionally lapping over the narrow ledge running along one side where we had to walk. The walls were dripping with moisture and 'residue' which we couldn't avoid getting on ourselves. I was glad Ianto had insisted we wear white hazard suits. Unfortunately we didn't have waders so had to make do with wellington boots which had very little grip on the slippery surface.

"Ugh," came from Owen who was walking behind me, "this is bloody disgusting."

"Stop complaining. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we get out of here."

At the end of the tunnel we met a larger one and the gloom increased, the only light coming from the torches strapped to our wrists. After checking my wrist-strap scanner, I headed right along a marginally wider ledge and three hundred metres later drew to a halt.

"It's up ahead," I whispered, head close to Owen's. "Looks like there's a room or something, more space anyway, where the tunnel curves."

"Right." He raised his gas mask and secured it over his mouth and nose before reaching into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulling out a canister of the sedative. "Let's get it over with."

"We're going in," I said over the comms.

"_I have you on my scanner,"_ replied Toshiko. _"Be careful." _

"Be careful, she says." Owen's voice was muffled by the gas mask but clear enough. "Stuck in a stinking hole with hundreds of Weevils and a Pisn'ioc and she says be careful! We'll be lucky if we get out of here alive."

"Aren't you a bundle of fun today?" I had my gas mask in place and took the canisters he handed me, holding one and stuffing the other in a pocket. "Come on."

I went forward cautiously, keeping the torch aimed low. Five metres further on I got my first sight of the Weevil nest. Bodies were lying on the ground in groups, pressed close together – for warmth or security perhaps – in a triangular opening which went back a couple of metres and was four metres or so long. Probably a service or storage area. I eased forward a little more until the ledge widened and Owen could come alongside me. Keeping the torch shaded, I counted twenty bodies in the nest, all of them resting as Weevils did during the day, but couldn't distinguish the Pisn'ioc. I raised my hand and pointed to a clear area in the centre of the nest, our target, then brought it down as the signal to throw the canisters. They flew through the air and landed more or less in the right place and sedative began escaping. We retreated a few paces and watched and waited.

One large Weevil reared up and got to his feet, growling ominously and waking some of his mates. More stood and looked around for the threat, among them the shorter, hard-shelled Pisn'ioc. The sedative was pouring from the canisters and obscured our vision as it billowed around, filling the nest area. When it cleared sufficiently, we could see the Pisn'ioc and most of the Weevils had fallen to the ground and only the two strongest and largest were still on their feet. Even they succumbed after a few more minutes. When they had all been still for three minutes, Owen and I moved in.

"Cover me," I told him, stepping over unconscious Weevils. "Unless you'd like to carry him?" I hadn't forgotten his abject failure to carry the Weevil a couple of days earlier.

"Ha bloody ha. Get on with it," he snarled.

Reaching the Pisn'ioc, I sprayed more sedative into its face for good measure and poked it with my foot. When I was confident it was out for the count, I leant down and heaved it over my shoulder. It was smaller than a Weevil but the incisors hung down awkwardly and it took me a couple of attempts to get it comfortable over my shoulder. Letting Owen report to the others and lead the way back, I followed him along the ledge. With my additional burden, the ledge seemed even narrower and it was harder than ever to keep my footing. When we turned into the smaller tunnel, it soon became impossible and I gave up trying, stepping down into the central channel and the muck that swirled around in the water. Luckily it wasn't too deep but it was highly unpleasant.

"Ianto, send the straps down," said Owen, already at the foot of the ladder.

"_Here they come."_ Leather straps tied into a crude harness appeared and Owen and I manoeuvred the Pisn'ioc into them.

"You go on up," I told Owen. "I'll follow him." I gestured to the Pisn'ioc dangling drunkenly between us.

"Right."

Owen scrambled up the ladder, anxious to reach the square of daylight and the fresh air above. He disappeared and the Pisn'ioc slowly rose towards the manhole, pulled up by the SUV's winch. At that moment, one of the larger Weevils came out of the darkness and roared defiance at me.

"Quick, I've got company!" I yelled, reaching for the spare canister and moving to meet the threat.

Two more Weevils emerged and they started forward in earnest. Pressing the button, I released the sedative in a huge cloud which enveloped the Weevils. They kept coming for another two paces then faltered, collapsing to the ground. One of them fell face first into the waste in the channel. Normally I'd have pulled him out, or at least turned him over, but I'd forgotten to raise my gasmask in time and was feeling the effects of the sedative.

"Jack, come on!" called Owen. I looked round and blearily made out his figure about a third of the way down the ladder.

"Coming," I managed, blundering back to the ladder and climbing very slowly and deliberately, rung by rung. "Got … got gassed," I managed to say, climbing up another rung.

"Shit! Just keep coming, I'm not hauling your arse up."

I continued to climb automatically but at just over halfway I knew I wasn't going to make it. My eyes closed and blackness descended. My hands slipped. I was in an uncomfortable place, wet and cold, not at all like the place I went to when I died. It was noisy too, people were talking and in the background was a persistent buzzing like a huge wasp. I opened my eyes.

"Hello." Toshiko face swam into view, her hair hanging in rattails around her face despite the hood over her head. "You breathed in some of the sedative, Jack. You'll be fine."

The buzzing stopped and Owen's face appeared. He was as wet as Toshiko. It was still raining, I realised, and I was lying on the ground on a tarpaulin getting soaked.

"Sleeping Beauty woken up then?" he said sarkily. He bent closer and peered into my eyes. "He'll be all right." Then he disappeared from view and the buzzing started once more.

I struggled to sit up. "What's happening?"

"Owen's opening up the Pisn'ioc."

Toshiko got under my arm and helped me to my feet. I was feeling better every minute, the air and even the rain driving away the effects of the sedative, but was still woozy. We were in the lee of the SUV where Owen and Ianto were leaning at the open boot; the legs of the Pisn'ioc hung down between them. The buzzing stopped again.

"That's got it. Hand me the syringe." Owen's voice, talking to Ianto who was obviously helping with the operation.

I stood on my own, only swaying a little, and with a hand on the SUV walked round to see what was happening. Ianto was nearest and he looked up and smiled. He was as wet as the others but in his buttoned up, three-quarter length coat he still managed to look trim.

"Feeling better?"

"Much. The Weevils?" I looked round and would have overbalanced if Ianto had not shot out a hand and grabbed my elbow.

"Careful. They can't get out, we've blocked the manhole."

"How?" The Weevils lived in the sewers, they knew how to open manhole covers, were probably taught it at their mother's knee.

"Parked the SUV on it," put in Toshiko with a chuckle. "Ianto's idea."

I looked down and sure enough, the offside rear wheel was right on the manhole. "Good idea. How d'you get me out?"

"Winched you up like the bloody idiot you are, Harkness," said Owen, straightening up from his place bent over the Pisn'ioc. "Thought you knew by now how to use a mask!"

"Forgot." I smiled a little sheepishly. Ianto's gaze met mine and his lips quirked into a cute smile. I didn't mind making an ass of myself if I got to see that, it was proof he'd forgiven me after our earlier upset. "Is that stuff working?" I was steadier on my feet now and moved round Ianto to see the Pisn'ioc, resting a hand on the young man's shoulder because I wanted to, not through necessity.

"Need a couple more minutes until I can test it." He sniffed loudly. "God, I stink." He was still wearing the white suit as was I although mine was a lot dirtier than his. "Or else it's you."

"I am rather mucky."

"You fell back into the sewer," laughed Owen. "Made a hell of a splash. 'Cos, this pair made me haul you out." He glared at Toshiko and Owen.

"You were already dirty." Toshiko's placid tone made me laugh and Ianto joined in.

We waited five minutes then Owen tested the Pisn'ioc and declared his elixir a success. I wasn't so confident – this was completely untried - and made Toshiko take detailed scans to be studied later. With Owen and Toshiko on watch, Ianto eased the SUV forward and I lifted the manhole cover. No Weevils were waiting to jump out at us. Owen and I eased the Pisn'ioc through the hole and dropped him the rest of the way. It wasn't far and he was tough.

Getting back to the Hub caused a lot of argy-bargy. Owen didn't want to get his car smelly but also didn't want anyone else to drive it. He didn't like my idea of stripping off and letting the rain clean him so reluctantly agreed to Ianto driving the Boxster with Toshiko riding shotgun to make sure he didn't hurt it. Ianto wouldn't leave Eddy so Toshiko ended up with the carry case on her knee. With that settled, Ianto objected to Owen and I, in our dirty state, riding in the SUV; he didn't want to have to clean it. At this point I had had enough. I was wet, cold and smelly and wanted to get into the dry, have a hot shower (preferably with some company) and put on clean clothes.

"Right, I'll get clean." I whipped off the suit and started on the clothes underneath which were as wet and ripe as the suit. "I'll go back naked, like I said earlier."

"You can't!" Ianto looked as horrified as Owen. Only Toshiko appeared interested – I'd have to follow up on that later …

"Keep your bloody clothes on," complained Owen. "And as for you, teaboy, just shut it." Owen removed his suit and wellington boots, flinging them into the boot. "And be careful with my car! Come on, Jack." He got into the driver's seat and I stopped removing clothes – I'd opened my shirt for Toshiko's delectation – and got in the other side.

We made it back to the Hub in one piece. Toshiko stayed in the work area and ordered lunch while the rest of us headed for the showers. It was so wonderful to stand under the hot spray that I didn't mind that Ianto was in his own cubicle. He finished first and went off to his room to dress. When Owen and I were done and dressed - Ianto had brought clean clothes for me from my quarters so I wouldn't have to streak through the Hub, the spoilsport - Toshiko went to clean up too. I was delighted when she returned in her pink tracksuit (which had been washed) and trainers with her hair in a lopsided ponytail.

"Don't you look cute," I said admiringly, twirling her round under my arm.

"Stop it, " she giggled.

"Yeah, leave my woman alone," growled Owen from his desk.

Toshiko went still and I looked from one to the other. Was she going to be pleased that he had declared his affection for her? Or would she be offended that he was treating her like an object? It was touch and go but the affection won out. Her eyes watered and she blinked repeatedly while grinning broadly. She dropped my hand and went to Owen, straddled him and kissed him very, very thoroughly. There was a lot of tongue involved.

"Jack!" Ianto was at the cog door, gesticulating at me to join me. "Come on."

In the lift, I grabbed my Welshman and gave him some of what Toshiko was giving Owen. He liked it and we continued all the way down the tunnel to the secret door; nearly fell over twice. In the Tourist Office I'd have liked a bit extra but Ianto stopped me with a hand on my chest. We were both breathing hard and our shirts were unbuttoned and pulled from our trousers.

"Not now, Jack," he puffed. "Later, when we've more time and can be more comfortable." His stroked my cheek.

"Not sure I can wait that long." I had him in a clinch, pressed against me and could feel his arousal. It matched – almost matched, tape measures never lie – mine. His neck was close and I bit it lightly just under the open collar.

"You're going to have to." He pushed me away and went behind the counter, tucking in his shirt and rearranging himself in his trousers. "Owen was pretty open."

Accepting I wasn't going to persuade Ianto to relent, I starting making myself tidy. "Hope he means it. Toshiko is going to be very hurt if he doesn't."

"Surely he does?"

I shrugged. "Never can tell with Owen. But I hope so."

We chatted a bit more. Ianto had come up here to wait for lunch – Indian today – to be delivered and I decided to stay with him. It would give the others a bit more time alone. When Ianto refused to open the CCTV so I could watch Owen and Toshiko, I wandered round the Tourist Office. The place was neat and professional with colourful brochures and pamphlets along with gifts and other small mementoes offered in a hundred shops in Cardiff. It was a good cover for us. Ianto was emptying a box of new leaflets about Castell Coch and I was reading one when the outer door opened and a man appeared bearing aromatic packages.

"Maybe we should call out first," I said, "don't want to interrupt them." Ianto was carrying the food while I held open the lift door.

"I think the door alarms will be sufficient." He walked into the Hub.

I nipped round him and up the steps to the work area but there was nothing to see. Owen was in the medical bay and Toshiko was at her desk looking demure once again. "Lunch is here," I announced quite unnecessarily; the aroma was filling the Hub. Trying to justify my presence, I picked up the empty carry case – Eddy was lying on Toshiko's desk – and put it on the floor. "We'll eat down here."

Ten minutes later we were settled in chairs and on the sofa with our late lunch – it was gone two - and bottles of water. Experience had shown that coffee, especially Ianto's good stuff, is wasted when eating a hot curry. I was hungry and dug in, breaking poppadoms into my chicken and lamb balti. Toshiko delicately ate her chicken tikka while Owen battled valiantly with the lamb vindaloo; he drank three bottles of water in a very short time. Ianto also had chicken tikka which he was sharing with Eddy, placing a small amount and lots of rice into the Eddykk's dish. No one spoke much, enjoying the peace and quiet, happy in our own company.

Looking round, I wondered how Gwen would fit in. She had a partner but he was on the outside, not part of the Torchwood family; she wouldn't be able to share her new experiences with him. We'd have to be especially careful to ensure she did not feel like an outsider now Owen was with Toshiko and Ianto and I were together. As I thought this, I was amazed that the four of us were so settled, at least at the moment, and hoped it would last.


	90. Chapter 90

**Strange Encounter**

Chapter Ninety

With lunch over, we went back to work. Owen began drafting the report of the Pisn'ioc encounter to which the rest of us would add our contributions later; Ianto cleared up, made some coffee and then went to the archives with Eddy; and Toshiko made plans for the dump of the hospital porter's body along with half a dozen other things no doubt.

I was in the office negotiating the release of Gwen, starting at the top with the Chief Constable. He took a little persuading but finally agreed. Officially she'd be on secondment to 'Special Ops' but both of us knew she wouldn't return to the force unless something went drastically wrong. We agreed she would join us a week on Monday, just twelve days away. I sent an email to the others with the news and called Gwen. She was thrilled and I was smiling when the call ended; her enthusiasm was infectious. I spent the next hour sorting emails and making phone calls, including one to the Prime Minister who'd been on an overseas trip for a few days and wanted to catch up. It was all very boring.

"We're ready, Jack," said Toshiko standing at the office door. The tracksuit made her look younger and I suddenly realised who she reminded me of: Amy Wong in _Futurama_. "If we dump it now the currents will wash it up in the main dock around midnight."

"Let's go."

With Webley and greatcoat on, Owen and I carried the body to the SUV while Toshiko told Ianto we were going out. It was a short drive, thankfully; the SUV still smelt from our earlier trip and we had all the windows open to let in fresh air. I pulled over close to the edge of the deserted dock we'd chosen as a dump site. This had once been a hive of activity, with hundreds of dockers moving all manner of cargoes by hand. But that was before containers. Now, one crane operator can do the work in a fraction of the time.

"Just here," directed Toshiko, walking to a spot at the end of the dock. "The current is strongest here."

"I am sick of hauling bodies around," complained Owen from the other end of the body bag. "Be glad when the newbie starts and she can do it."

"Stop complaining and keep walking," I told him. I had no sympathy; I'd been hauling bodies for a century! "And we're not giving Gwen all the worst jobs."

"Hey, she has to pay her dues, like the rest of us." Owen put down his end of the bag and unzipped it. "Or are you soft on her? Gonna give her a quick shag or three? If you haven't already." He grinned up at me.

"Wouldn't be a hardship," I grinned back.

"If you two have finished?" interrupted Toshiko, tapping her foot. She didn't look put out, just bored. Ianto was right, better to openly admire Gwen than lust after her in secret.

"Bossy, isn't she? Must be because she's getting it regularly." I lifted the porter's feet as Owen took his shoulders.

"You should hear her in bed. Orders, orders, orders." Owen smirked as Toshiko made disgusted noises but refused to respond or look at us, concentrating on her PDA. Having worked together for a year they understood one another and I felt they had a good shot at happiness. As good as anybody's can be, that is.

The body went into the water with a splash and floated face down. We waited but it didn't move, just stayed where it was until Owen found an abandoned scaffolding pole and pushed it further away from the dockside. Finally the current took it and it drifted off. When we were sure the body would not get tangled in the weeds, we piled back into the SUV and returned to base.

The Rift predictor was still quiet and there was nothing happening in the city that required our attention. It was eerie and the three of us tried to settle to work but couldn't concentrate. I checked the news reports of the Canton explosion - nothing new - then looked at the scans of the Pisn'ioc with Owen and concluded that the potion he'd concocted seemed to have worked. We wouldn't be sure until the attacks on the Weevils stopped but I was hopeful. By five o'clock I was bored to tears.

"Why don't you two get off?" I said, standing in the work area. I got a most unexpected response.

"No, thanks. Time you and Ianto got an evening off. Tosh and me'll stay here."

"What?" I was surprised at Owen's thoughtfulness and put it down to Toshiko's influence.

"You should, Jack," added Toshiko. "You two have covered all the evening and night shifts since we lost Suzie. Time you had a break."

Owen, who was back at his desk, looked round. "You won't get a better offer."

Toshiko jumped up. "I'll go and tell Ianto while you work out where you're going to take him." She was about to run off so I grabbed her arm to stop her, swinging her round into an unexpected, but very pleasant, embrace. "Hey, what are doing?"

"Yes, what are you doing?" asked Owen curiously.

"I'd quite like to know too." Ianto had come upon us silently and was walking past the water tower, Eddy on his shoulder and the carry case in his hand.

"Other than getting hard?" I asked sweetly. Owen and Ianto groaned while Toshiko giggled and gently moved away; she knew I wasn't aroused. "Seriously, thanks for the offer but I'd rather stay in tonight." I had other plans.

"What's this all about?" asked Ianto. Eddy ran down his front and jumped onto Owen's desk.

"Tosh and I offered to stay but seems Jack doesn't want a night off." Owen was eyeing me speculatively, holding a wriggling Eddy in his hands.

"Doesn't he?" Ianto gaze was accusing.

"No, I don't. If you'd let me finish," I said, "I was going to say that if the Rift is behaving itself tomorrow I'd prefer the morning off." Ianto made a lot of putting the carry case down on the coffee table and his face was an impassive mask when he finally straightened up. "Would that be okay?"

Owen and Toshiko shrugged, it was a better deal for them as they got this evening free. "Sure," said Owen. "Might as well get off then." In five minutes they were gone.

Ianto was at the coffee machine, his back very straight, not saying a word. A sure sign he was cross with me. I was about to go over and explain when he finished making the drinks and returned to the work area where I was sitting on the sofa playing with Eddy. The mug was plonked on the coffee table hard enough for some of the drink to spill.

"We could have had a night off," he began, standing very still, his expression irritated. "I'd have liked a few hours out of this place, with you, but instead you turn down the chance so you can go off and … and do something secret tomorrow!" He slammed his own coffee mug down on Toshiko's desk. "What is it? Flat Holm or … or that lady friend with the kid?"

"It's not a secret. I'm taking you out. On a date." I sipped my coffee, watching him closely. His expression changed from outrage to disbelief to pleasure in just a few moments. I loved wrong-footing him like this; he was so cute. "If you want to come, that is."

"I don't know." Now he was playing hard to get but a smile was lurking at the corners of his expressive mouth and his eyes were twinkling.

"I'll ask someone else then," I replied placidly.

His head shot up and he glared at me. "You will not! Where are we going?"

I grinned, I had him now. "Now that is a secret. Not sure how it ranks on the romantic scale but I promise it'll be somewhere … different."

He pondered this while he drank some coffee. "I'm not sure I like the sound of this, but … okay. I'll come."

"Big of you! And now, as we have the whole of the evening and an empty Hub I think it's time you came and joined me over here." I patted the seat next to me. "Lots of things I want to do with you." I proceeded to list them.

A couple of hours later, we'd completed items one and two on my list but had many more to go. We paused for a bit of work, Ianto to clean out the SUV and me to check the Rift monitor, alerts and police channels. There were no Rift openings and no Weevil sightings either. I decided it was time to consider activity number three which required Ianto and me to be apart. I opened the comms.

"Ianto, you there?"

"_Umm. Gotta problem?"_ The hum of a vacuum cleaner could be heard in the background.

"Talk to me, Ianto. Smother me in those beautiful Welsh vowels and make me hard."

"_I beg your pardon?"_ The background hum ceased. _"What are you talking about?"_

"Phone sex, Ianto, phone sex. Even on a repressed planet like this one, you must have heard of it. I'm undoing my shirt, Ianto. Can you see me? In your mind's eye, can you see my fingers undoing the buttons and my gorgeous chest and fabulous six-pack coming into sight, inch by inch?"

"Don't need a mind's eye," came from behind me. Hands swivelled the chair round and Ianto straddled me, lips hungrily pressed against mine. So much for number three, we went straight into number four.

"You were right. Much better to stay in tonight," said Ianto. We were in the kitchen making supper having completed numbers four through six. One night of abstinence had made us hungry for one another. "A movie doesn't compare to this. That cheese ready?"

"Almost." I was grating a hunk of cheddar to go on top of the baked potatoes while Ianto was making up a side salad and something for Eddy. "Here." I passed him the cheese and wrapped my arms around his waist resting my chin on his shoulder. "We'll do the movie sometime, be easier to have time off when Gwen starts." I nicked a piece of cucumber and got my knuckles rapped. "Ow."

"Leave it alone. I'd like that, but being here is more … satisfying."

"Long as I'm not wearing you out." We'd been pretty energetic but I'd made sure we varied our lovemaking so he didn't take too much punishment. I could take all he gave me and heal almost immediately, he couldn't.

"I'm fine. Here, take this." He handed me the Tupperware container filled with tuna and salad. "Give this to Eddy while I grill the potatoes."

"Okay." I kissed his neck and released him, padding across the Hub to the work area where we'd left Eddy in his carry case; poor thing was tired of being cooped up and was standing at the grill looking out. "Out you come. Suppertime."

We ate sitting on the couch with Eddy - after he'd eaten his meal - climbing around the place. He seemed very at home and had some favourite places now including, surprisingly, Owen's untidy desk. Having investigated enough, he curled up on the keyboard and went to sleep. Ianto and I curled up together and watched TV on one of Toshiko's screens. It was one of those talent shows where people make prats of themselves. Do they honestly think they're any good? Or is the lure of five minutes of 'fame' so great they don't mind the ridicule? Whatever, we had a good laugh.

Later, after Ianto had cleared up, we retired to his room and worked our way through numbers seven, eight and nine before calling a halt. We were both tired and needed sleep, even me, and cuddled up in one another's arms in the comfort of his bed. I stayed there all night, even after I woke, and lay watching Ianto sleep; one of my favourite occupations. At six, I eased from the bed, showered and dressed before checking once again that all was quiet in Cardiff. There had been a three car pile up in the Bute Tunnel and a knifing in a city centre pub but nothing to merit our attention. A brief report of another possible disappearance in the Brecon Beacons caught my eye. Thomas King, 22, had been driving home after a night out with friends and was missing. His car had been found but there was no trace of him. The police were taking it very seriously and a full search was planned for first light. I added the details to my file.

Ianto had been up and about for an hour when Toshiko and Owen came in at eight thirty. With a mug of coffee each, we gathered in the work area.

"The Rift's still clear so Ianto and I'll take the morning off. We'll not be far away, so call us in if something big happens."

"Where are you going?" asked Toshiko, stroking Eddy who was on her lap. She had been entrusted with the Eddykk's care with strict instructions about what to feed him.

"He won't tell me," said Ianto with a smile. All through our passionate evening together, he had tried to get me to spill the beans but I'd refused. "Probably going to check on the Weevils in the sewers!"

"Damn, you've guessed!" I responded.

"It better not be!"

"We'll be fine, wherever you are," said Owen airily. "We plan to have a quiet morning here in the Hub. You leaving the SUV?"

"Uh huh. We'll take the Rav," I told him. "Right, Ianto, off you go and do whatever you need to do. We'll be leaving in half an hour."

It was closer to nine fifteen when I finally winkled him out of the base and into the car. The day was bright and sunny as I drove north, for once not in a rush to get anywhere and content to take my turn at junctions and lights. Beside me, Ianto looked out of the window and chatted about all he saw. He was relaxed and happy and pleased to be out of the Hub for a few hours. I think he also liked being with me, I know I liked being with him. We made it through the city and continued north, crossing the M4 and taking the A470 signposted to Pontypridd. We turned off almost immediately into the houses clinging to the wooded hills.

"Is it Castell Coch? Is that where we're going?" asked Ianto. We'd been following the signs for the past few miles so I was surprised he hadn't twigged earlier. "Jack, is it?" He was like a child on an outing.

"Yes, course it is. I suppose you've been before."

"Couple of times but years ago, when I was a kid." He was still a kid to me, especially when he was excited like now. "It'll be great."

"Hope so."

He twisted to look at me. "You've not visited it, have you? In a hundred years you've seen nothing."

"Nope," I agreed amiably. "I was waiting for you to show me."

"Idiot!" He punched me lightly on the arm. "You mean you were too lazy."

"That too." I was pleased I had waited and would be able to see these places for the first time with him.

I negotiated the narrow streets and followed the road up the hillside before turning left into the grounds of Castell Coch, continuing to climb steeply until reaching the car park. There were a few cars there already even this early in the morning and I parked near them. It was a beautiful place. Trees surrounded us this high up on the hill and we could just see, through an opening, the motorway and city laid out below us. The place was quiet and it was as if we were miles from anywhere despite being able to see the busy people below.

"This way," said Ianto continuing the climb up the steep slope to the castle a hundred metres or so above. Two huge rounded towers with conical roofs flanked a square gatehouse with a large wooden bridge. "It was built in the Middle Ages though there was a smaller castle back in Norman times."

"Survived well." There wasn't a mark on the place.

He stopped and stared at me, incredulous at my lack of knowledge. "It was rebuilt in the 1890s by the Marquess of Bute. The one that owned most of Cardiff. Don't you know anything?"

"Obviously not. You'll have to educate me." I grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. "Come on."

We spent two hours going round the castle. Ianto took the guide book and proceeded to lead me round from the central courtyard, up the outside steps and into each of the rooms. They were all decorated in the high Gothic style so beloved of the Victorians with colourful wall decoration and painted ceilings. We saw drawing rooms and bedrooms, a portcullis and kitchen and climbed up and down spiral staircases – including one which had a strange right angle bend in it - until my legs ached. Finally Ianto took pity on me and we went to the restaurant in the old servants' hall and had a restorative cup of coffee and a slice of cake each. Outside once again, we had time to wander right round the castle studying the towering walls and enjoying a moment away from prying eyes when Ianto permitted me to hold his hand as we walked.

At close to midday we stood by the car. "Enjoyed yourself?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. You?" He looked across the roof of the Rav, eyes shining and a happy smile on his face. He was like any other young man let off work for a few hours.

"Very much."

It had been a wonderful morning, spent with the man I loved and I hoped for many more occasions like it. Driving back to Cardiff and the pressures of work, I thanked my lucky star – the sixth in the Sullinian Hegemony – that he had been in that park when I went out to catch a Weevil. Who would have believed that such an inauspicious meeting would lead to such happiness? I was going to hang on to it for as long as I possibly could.

* * *

_And that's where I am going to leave Jack, Ianto and the rest of the team. I started this story with the intention of getting as far as Gwen joining Torchwood and the start of the first series. While I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this story, I still think that is the place to end before I run out of ideas. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, placing the story on alert and making it a favourite. I really appreciate your support - Jay_


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